Adjacent Words

Dissect definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

DISSECT, v.t. [L., to cut.]
1. To cut in pieces; to divide an animal body, with a cutting instrument, by separating the joints; as, to dissect a fowl. Hence appropriately,
2. To cut in pieces, as an animal or vegetable, for the purpose of examining the structure and use of its several parts; to anatomize. Also, to open any part of a body to observe its morbid appearances, or to ascertain the cause of death or the seat of a disease.
3. To divide into its constituent parts, for the purpose of examination; as, dissect your mind; dissect a paragraph.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: cut open or cut apart; "dissect the bodies for analysis"
2: make a mathematical, chemical, or grammatical analysis of; break down into components or essential features; "analyze a specimen"; "analyze a sentence"; "analyze a chemical compound" [syn: analyze, analyse, break down, dissect, take apart] [ant: synthesise, synthesize]

Merriam Webster's

verb Etymology: Latin dissectus, past participle of dissecare to cut apart, from dis- + secare to cut — more at saw Date: 1598 transitive verb 1. to separate into pieces ; expose the several parts of (as an animal) for scientific examination 2. to analyze and interpret minutely <dissect a problem> intransitive verb to make a dissection Synonyms: see analyze • dissector noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v.tr. 1 cut into pieces. 2 cut up (a plant or animal) to examine its parts, structure, etc., or (a corpse) for a post mortem. 3 analyse; criticize or examine in detail. Derivatives: dissection n. dissector n. Etymology: L dissecare dissect- (as DIS-, secare cut)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Dissect Dis*sect", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dissected; p. pr. & vb. n. Dissecting.] [L. dissectus, p. p. of dissecare; dis- + secare to cut. See Section.] 1. (Anat.) To divide into separate parts; to cut in pieces; to separate and expose the parts of, as an animal or a plant, for examination and to show their structure and relations; to anatomize.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(dissects, dissecting, dissected) 1. If someone dissects the body of a dead person or animal, they carefully cut it up in order to examine it scientifically. We dissected a frog in biology class. VERB: V n • dissection (dissections) Researchers need a growing supply of corpses for dissection. N-VAR 2. If someone dissects something such as a theory, a situation, or a piece of writing, they consider and talk about each detail of it. People want to dissect his work and question his motives. VERB: V n • dissection (dissections) ...her calm, condescending dissection of my proposals. N-VAR: usu N of n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. a. 1. Anatomize, cut in pieces. 2. Analyze, scrutinize, sift, examine, investigate, explore, lay open.

Moby Thesaurus

analyze, anatomize, assay, break down, break up, carve, cleave, cut, decompose, dichotomize, disjoin, disjoint, dissever, divide, part, penetrate, pierce, probe, reduce, reduce to elements, resolve, segment, separate, sever, slice, split, subdivide, sunder