Meaning & use
Vivisecting
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Performing surgical operations on a living animal for scientific research, or figuratively, examining or criticizing something in minute, harsh detail.
See it in a sentence
Early physiologists learned much about circulation by vivisecting animals, a practice that later sparked ethical debate.
The critic spent the review vivisecting every weak line of dialogue in the play.
A note on using this word
"Vivisecting," from Latin roots meaning "cutting while alive," has long been controversial; the word is now often used figuratively for a harshly detailed critique rather than literal surgery.
Words with a similar meaning
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Another way to use it
2. verb
To examine, criticize, or analyze something in excessive, often harsh, detail.
The professor vivisected the student's thesis line by line.
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