Meaning & use
dissect
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Meanings
verbtransitivebiologymedical
To cut open a dead body, plant, or organism carefully in order to study how it is built.
Grammar: Takes an object: dissect a frog.
Patterns
- dissect something
Biology students dissected a frog in class.
The pathologist dissected the tissue under a microscope.
They dissected a flower to count its petals and stamens.
verbtransitivefigurative
To examine something closely and in detail, part by part, in order to understand it.
Grammar: Used figuratively for analyzing arguments, speeches, and plays.
Patterns
- dissect something for something
The commentators dissected the final play for an hour.
She dissected the poem line by line.
Analysts dissected the company's last report.
Word forms
| third person singular | dissects |
|---|---|
| past tense | dissected |
| past participle | dissected |
| -ing form | dissecting |
Common combinations
- dissect a frog
- We had to dissect a frog in biology.
- dissect an argument
- He dissected her argument and found three errors.
- dissect in detail
- The film was dissected in detail by critics.
- dissect a specimen
- The students carefully dissected the specimen.
- dissect a speech
- Pundits dissect every speech the president gives.
Synonyms and how they differ
- analyze
- Analyze is the general word for studying something closely, but dissect adds the image of cutting it into small parts.
- examine
- Examine means simply to look at something carefully, without breaking it down part by part.
- pick apart
- Pick apart is informal and usually means to criticize flaws, whereas dissect can be neutral.
- anatomize
- Anatomize is an old-fashioned word for dissecting or analyzing in detail, rarely used now.
Opposites
Word family
- dissection noun
- the act of cutting up for study
- dissector noun
- a person or tool that dissects
- dissected adjective
- cut into sections, as a dissected leaf
- dissectible adjective
- capable of being dissected
Commonly confused: dissect or bisect?
dissect vs bisect
Bisect means to divide into two equal parts, while dissect means to cut apart many parts to study the structure.
Practice
The film critics spent an hour trying to ___ the ending and explain its hidden meanings.
Choose one answer.
Dissect here means to analyze closely, part by part. Bisect means to cut into two, and detect and deflect do not fit a discussion of meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “dissect”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.