Meaning & use
analytical
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Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Good at studying something by splitting it into parts and reasoning carefully about each one.
Grammar: Describes a person or mind: an analytical thinker; also used after be.
Patterns
- an analytical mind
- analytical skills
- be analytical about something
Her analytical mind spotted the mistake in the budget at once.
The job requires strong analytical skills and attention to detail.
He is very analytical about money and tracks every expense.
adjectivebefore a noun
Based on a close breakdown of facts or data, rather than on opinion or feeling.
Grammar: Usually describes a method, report or approach: an analytical report.
Patterns
- an analytical approach
- an analytical essay
The team took an analytical approach to the sales decline.
Her analytical essay compared the two poems line by line.
The company bought analytical software to study customer behavior.
adjectivebefore a nounchemistrytechnical
Connected with analysis in a scientific field such as chemistry, where substances are tested to find out what they contain.
Grammar: A technical modifier in science: analytical chemistry.
Patterns
- analytical chemistry
- analytical methods
Analytical chemistry helps identify pollutants in drinking water.
The lab uses analytical methods to measure the metal content.
She trained as an analytical chemist at university.
Word forms
| comparative | more analytical |
|---|---|
| superlative | most analytical |
Common combinations
- analytical skills
- Employers value analytical skills in graduates.
- analytical mind
- Her analytical mind made her an excellent detective.
- analytical approach
- An analytical approach will solve this problem faster than guessing.
- analytical thinking
- Analytical thinking helps you separate facts from assumptions.
- analytical tool
- The spreadsheet is a handy analytical tool.
- highly analytical
- He is highly analytical and rarely rushes a decision.
Synonyms and how they differ
- logical
- Logical stresses reasoning that follows clear steps, while analytical stresses breaking a problem into parts to examine each.
- methodical
- Methodical highlights an orderly, systematic way of working, not necessarily deep examination of the parts.
- rational
- Rational contrasts with emotional and means guided by reason, which is broader than analytical.
- critical
- Critical suggests judging quality and finding faults, whereas analytical simply means examining carefully.
Opposites
Word family
- analyze verb
- to examine something in detail
- analysis noun
- a detailed examination of something
- analyst noun
- a person who analyzes data or events
- analytically adverb
- in a careful, reasoned way
Commonly confused: analytical or analogical?
analytical vs analogical
Analogical means based on a comparison or analogy, not on breaking something into parts.
Practice
A manager who studies sales figures line by line before making a decision is being ____.
Choose one answer.
Analytical means examining parts carefully, which describes studying figures line by line. Impulsive and careless are the opposite, and sentimental refers to emotion.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “analytical”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.