dissect
/dɪˈsɛkt/ verb C1- To study an animal's anatomy by cutting it apart; to perform a necropsy or an autopsy.
- To study a plant's or other organism's anatomy similarly.
- To analyze an idea in detail by delineating between its parts.
- To decontextualize an idea, especially through overanalysis by delineating between its parts too strongly based on style, usually involving pedantry, at the expense of substance.
- To separate muscles, organs, etc. without cutting into them or disrupting their architecture. · Now dissect the triceps away from its attachment on the humerus.
- Of an infection or foreign material, following the fascia separating muscles or other organs.
He/she/it dissects · Past dissected · Past participle dissected · -ing form dissecting
Verb forms
- Base form
- dissect
- He/she/it
- dissects
- Past
- dissected
- Past participle
- dissected
- -ing form
- dissecting
From the library
When it comes to beating the subjects in the dissecting-rooms with a stick, it is certainly taking rather a bizarre shape.”
Sometimes he spent his day at the chemical laboratory, sometimes in the dissecting-rooms, and occasionally in long walks, which appeared to take him into the lowest portions of the City.
Viewers today gather in digital forums to dissect plot nuances and forecast future developments, mirroring the fervent discussions of Victorian readers.
Learn dissect in real texts
With a free account, hover any word in the library for its meaning, hear it read aloud, save words for review timed to your memory, and see how much of each book you already know.