dissect
verb
dis·sect dī-ˈsekt 
ˈdī-ˌsekt
also
di- ˈdī-ˌsekt dissected; dissecting; dissects
transitive verb
1
: to separate into pieces : expose the several parts of (something, such as an animal) for scientific examination
dissect an earthworm
dissecting flowers
2
: to analyze and interpret minutely
dissect a problem
intransitive verb
: to make a dissection
dissector noun
dī-ˈsek-tər
also
di- ˈdī-ˌsek-
Synonyms
- analyze
- anatomize
- assay
- break down
- cut
- deconstruct
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
We dissected a frog in science class. She dissected each point of his argument. We dissected the poem in class. The city is dissected by a network of highways.
Recent Examples on the Web Julia Hava and Eliza McLamb dissect pop culture through a sociological and psychological lens while also making listeners laugh. 
Alamin Yohannes, EW.com, 25 June 2022 Ditto a later sequence in which a fictional character clearly based on Cheung shows up in Rene’s dreams, and the two of them dissect what went wrong with their relationship. David Fear, Rolling Stone, 20 June 2022 And journalists dissect every way the company went wrong. Aparna Dhinakaran, Forbes, 6 June 2022 On the latest episode of the Blazer Focused podcast, Aaron Fentress and Craig Birnbach dissect the exit interviews and look ahead to the critical offseason. oregonlive, 12 Apr. 2022 It’s part of the job of CTOs and other innovators to dissect them, take the pieces and maybe fashion them into something truly remarkable that solves a compelling business need. Claus Jepsen, Forbes, 16 Aug. 2022 Even more surprising was when Brady, after a series in 11-on-11 drills, came off the field and immediately went to Arians to dissect what happened. Ben Volin, BostonGlobe.com, 13 Aug. 2022 One more tease: The High Evolutionary (to be played in the film by Chukwudi Iwuji), appears — in all his purple glory — to walk from the back of Hall H to the front and insults us humans and threatens to dissect us all. Los Angeles Times, 23 July 2022 Online, after every match, thousands of people flock to Twitter Spaces to jointly dissect what happened. New York Times, 5 Feb. 2022 See More
Alamin Yohannes, EW.com, 25 June 2022 Ditto a later sequence in which a fictional character clearly based on Cheung shows up in Rene’s dreams, and the two of them dissect what went wrong with their relationship. David Fear, Rolling Stone, 20 June 2022 And journalists dissect every way the company went wrong. Aparna Dhinakaran, Forbes, 6 June 2022 On the latest episode of the Blazer Focused podcast, Aaron Fentress and Craig Birnbach dissect the exit interviews and look ahead to the critical offseason. oregonlive, 12 Apr. 2022 It’s part of the job of CTOs and other innovators to dissect them, take the pieces and maybe fashion them into something truly remarkable that solves a compelling business need. Claus Jepsen, Forbes, 16 Aug. 2022 Even more surprising was when Brady, after a series in 11-on-11 drills, came off the field and immediately went to Arians to dissect what happened. Ben Volin, BostonGlobe.com, 13 Aug. 2022 One more tease: The High Evolutionary (to be played in the film by Chukwudi Iwuji), appears — in all his purple glory — to walk from the back of Hall H to the front and insults us humans and threatens to dissect us all. Los Angeles Times, 23 July 2022 Online, after every match, thousands of people flock to Twitter Spaces to jointly dissect what happened. New York Times, 5 Feb. 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
Latin dissectus, past participle of dissecare to cut apart, from dis- + secare to cut — more at saw
First Known Use
1598, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1
Kids Definition
dissect
verb
dis·sect di-ˈsekt
dissected; dissecting
: to cut or take apart especially for examination We dissected a flower in science class.
Medical Definition
dissect
transitive verb
dis·sect dis-ˈekt; dī-ˈsekt ˈdī-ˌ
ˈdī-ˌ : to cut so as to separate into pieces or to expose the several parts of (as an animal or a cadaver) for scientific examination
specifically : to separate or follow along natural lines of cleavage (as through connective tissue)
dissect out the regional lymph nodes
a dissecting aneurysm
intransitive verb
: to make a medical dissection
dissect
verb
as in to analyze
to identify and examine the basic elements or parts of (something) especially for discovering interrelationships let's dissect the plot of this thriller to see what makes it thrilling Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- analyze
- examine
- assess
- investigate
- diagnose
- deconstruct
- evaluate
- divide
- anatomize
- inspect
- scrutinize
- assay
- cut
- classify
- categorize
- break down
- tabulate
- codify
- arrange
- order
- sort
- enumerate
- subdivide
- separate
- diagram
- catalog
- reduce
- schematize
- index
- segment
- catalogue
- assort
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- synthesize
- integrate
- consolidate
- unify
- aggregate
- assimilate
- coalesce
- conglomerate
- amalgamate
- agglomerate
Synonym Chooser
The words analyze and break down are common synonyms of dissect. While all three words mean "to divide a complex whole into its parts or elements," dissect suggests a searching analysis by laying bare parts or pieces for individual scrutiny.
commentators dissected every word of the speech
The words analyze and dissect are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, analyze suggests separating or distinguishing the component parts of something (such as a substance, a process, a situation) so as to discover its true nature or inner relationships.
analyzed the collected data
The meanings of break down and dissect largely overlap; however, break down implies a reducing to simpler parts or divisions.
break down the budget
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