Skip to main content
dissection

dissection

7 6.6
A careful study that looks at the parts of a text or idea
  • noun
  • /dɪˈsɛkʃən/
  • Formal
translation icon : análisis
  • The book offers a critical dissection of the factors that led to the economic crisis.

It's simply a way of being involved with life, knowing life by involvement, not by dissection.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • Islamic medicine produced detailed, accurate anatomical studies, even while following the ancient injunction against dissection.

    Academic text (1994)
  • We get caught up in O'Hara because of his scrupulous dissection of motives and rationalizations we ourselves incline to slight or blur.

    Academic text (1997)
  • I want a full dissection of all components.

  • While no autopsy was performed, there was great dissection of the available facts.

    Academic text (2010)
  • So one asks, what are the ethics of this kind of analysis, this dissection?

    Academic text (1992)
  • The text of the physiognomic treatise also encourages the same type of dissection for the sake of interpretation.

    Academic text (2013)
  • For example, the historical experiences of 'bodily practices,' including 'dissection,' reveal East Asian practitioners' knowledge of the body structures and their materiality.

    Academic text (2018)
  • The professor's lecture included a detailed dissection of Shakespeare's themes and characters.

  • In her article, she provided a thorough dissection of the recent political events.

Synonyms

analysis
vsdissection
3.4

Careful study of something by breaking it into parts to understand

is more detailed and systematic than that general examination
anatomy
vsdissection
15 5.5

A detailed study of the parts of something and how they work

is the same idea but emphasises systematic procedure and detail
deep dive
vsdissection
  • Jargon
8 4.1

A detailed look at a topic to learn more about it

is more systematic and methodical across types of things than focused depth
thorough analysis
vsdissection
3 3.5

A careful study that looks at all parts of something

is similar but stresses methodical system and organised steps
teardown
vsdissection
2 4.1

Taking something apart to study or remove its parts

is less about physical disassembly and more about systematic examination
deconstruction
vsdissection
1 7.6

A way of studying something by breaking it into parts

is more neutral and systematic rather than focused on hidden meaning
disaggregation
vsdissection
  • Specialized
1 7.9

Breaking a whole into smaller separate parts

is more about structured, systematic study rather than mere separation
analyzation
vsdissection
  • US
5.0

A careful study of something in detail to understand it

is framed as a more systematic and detailed study
deep-dive analysis
vsdissection
4.9

A careful, detailed study of a subject to find important facts

is broader, applying systematic detail across many contexts rather than depth
anatomization
vsdissection
9.3

A study that breaks something into parts to show how it works

is similar but stresses an organised, stepwise examination throughout

Antonyms

74 3.8

A short summary of the main points of something

14 6.2

Combining different ideas to form one whole

How Thorough

scrutiny
168 5.5
dissection
  • Formal
7 6.6
examination
110 2.3
to review
  • Literature
252 2.9

Surface Forms

dissection singular
dissections plural

Morphology

dissection = dissect (semi-transparent) = dissect + ion

Derived from 'dissect' + '-ion' but used metaphorically for systematic analysis rather than literal cutting.

Etymology

The word dissection comes from Latin parts dis- 'apart' and secare 'to cut', and you can see the same root in section, a common word for a part. So a dissection can also mean cutting an idea into parts for a careful study of each piece.