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dissect. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
dissect, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
dissect in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
dissect you have here. The definition of the word
dissect will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
dissect, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin dissectus past participle of dissecare (“to cut asunder, cut up”), from dis- (“asunder”) + secare (“to cut”); see section.
Pronunciation
Verb
dissect (third-person singular simple present dissects, present participle dissecting, simple past and past participle dissected)
- (transitive) To study an animal's anatomy by cutting it apart; to perform a necropsy or an autopsy.
- (transitive) To study a plant's or other organism's anatomy similarly.
- (transitive) To analyze an idea in detail by separating it into its parts.
- (transitive, anatomy, surgery) To separate muscles, organs, etc. without cutting into them or disrupting their architecture.
- (transitive, pathology) Of an infection or foreign material, following the fascia separating muscles or other organs.
Derived terms
Translations
to study a dead animal's anatomy by cutting it apart
to analyze an idea in detail by separating it into its parts
to separate muscles, organs, and so on without cutting or disrupting
Further reading
- “dissect”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E Smith, editors (1911), “dissect”, in The Century Dictionary , New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
- “dissect”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
Anagrams