dissect
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dissect
- /dɪˈsɛkt/ UK
- /daɪˈsɛkt/ UK
- /dɪˈsɛkt/ US
- /daɪˈsɛkt/ US
Rhymes with -ɛkt
Where it comes from
Borrowed from Latin dissectus past participle of dissecare (“to cut asunder, cut up”), from dis- (“asunder”) + secare (“to cut”); see section.
verb dissects · dissecting · dissected
- To study an animal's anatomy by cutting it apart; to perform a necropsy or an autopsy. She was the first person in her class to properly dissect the sheep heart.
- 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.
Academics tend to take Indigenous oral histories out of their contexts and dissect them according to Western disciplinary objectives and foci (see figure 1).
Similar: contextomize
- 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.
Translations
Every language
verb 1. to study a dead animal's anatomy by cutting it apart
| Español | disecar, diseccionar |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 解剖 jiěpōu |
| Português | dissecar |
| Français | disséquer |
| Deutsch | sezieren |
| Italiano | dissecare |
| Ελληνικά | ανατέμνω anatémno |
| Română | diseca |
| Русский | анатомировать anatomirovatʹ, вскрыва́ть vskryvátʹ, препарировать preparirovatʹ |
verb 3. to analyze an idea in detail by separating it into its parts
| Español | diseccionar, disecar |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 剖视 pōushì |
| Português | dissecar |
| Français | disséquer |
| Deutsch | zerlegen, analysieren |
| Ελληνικά | ανατέμνω anatémno |
| Română | diseca |
| Русский | анализи́ровать analizírovatʹ, проводи́ть ана́лиз provodítʹ análiz, разбира́ть критически razbirátʹ kritičeski |
verb 5. to separate muscles, organs, and so on without cutting or disrupting
| Español | disecar |
|---|
Talk about this word "dissect." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/dissect. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. dissect. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/dissect "dissect." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/dissect.Cite this
@misc{dissect_2026,
title = {dissect},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/dissect},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
