Definition of dissect Dissect

/dajsɛˈkt/ - [daysekt] - dis•sect

We found 12 definitions of dissect from 6 different sources.

What does dissect mean?

Verb dissects, dissecting, dissected
dissect - cut open or cut apart; "dissect the bodies for analysis"
		cut grow through the gums; "The new tooth is cutting"
		vivisect cut (a body) open while still alive; "people no longer vivisect animals--it's considered unethical"
		anatomise, anatomize analyze down to the smallest detail; "This writer anatomized the depth of human behavior"
dissect - 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"
		analyze, analyse, break down, take apart
		synthesise, synthesize combine so as to form a more complex, product; "his operas synthesize music and drama in perfect harmony"; "The liver synthesizes vitamins"
		parse analyze syntactically by assigning a constituent structure to (a sentence)
		botanise, botanize collect and study plants

= synonym
= antonym
= related word

dissect (Verb)
To study an animal's anatomy by cutting it apart; to perform a necropsy or an autopsy.
dissect (Verb)
To study a plant or other organism's anatomy similarly.
dissect (Verb)
To analyze an idea in detail by separating it into its parts.
dissect (Verb)
To separate muscles, organs, and so on without cutting into them or disrupting their architecture.
dissect (Verb)
Of an infection or foreign material, following the fascia separating muscles or other organs.

dissect (v. t.)
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.
dissect (v. t.)
To analyze, for the purposes of science or criticism; to divide and examine minutely.

dissect
dis-sekt′, v.t. to cut asunder: to cut into parts for the purpose of minute examination: to divide and examine: to analyse and criticise (often hostilely, as a man's character or motives).—adj. Dissect′ible.—ns. Dissect′ing; Dissec′tion, the act or the art of cutting in pieces a plant or animal in order to ascertain the structure of its parts: anatomy.—adj. Dissect′ive, tending to dissect.—n. Dissect′or.—Dissected map, picture, a map or picture on a board cut into pieces, so that the putting of them together forms a puzzle. [L. dissecāre, dissectum—dis, asunder, secāre, to cut.]