dissection

[ dih-sek-shuhn, dahy- ]

noun

1. the act of dissecting.
2. something that has been dissected. dissect.
3. a detailed, part-by-part analysis.

Other Words From

• redis·section noun
• self-dis·section noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of dissection¹

1575–85; < Latin dissectiōn- (stem of dissectiō ), equivalent to dissect- ( dissect ) + -iōn- -ion

Example Sentences

My forthcoming book, "Money, Lies, and God: Inside the Movement to Destroy American Democracy," is a dissection of that movement.

From Salon

CNN’s four-part series “The Many Lives of Martha Stewart,” which aired in January, is probably the most comprehensive and evenhanded dissection of Stewart’s life and career to date that doesn’t include her voice.

From Salon

Kerry-Ann Lecky Hepburn, one of the judges and a meteorologist, said the winning image was an "impressive dissection of the fleeting few seconds" when Baily's beads can be seen.

From BBC

The dissection eventually led her to conclude that if you removed both the heel and the hard inner shank of a heeled shoe, it could stand flat on the ground.

From Los Angeles Times

Between 1974 and ’82, she released six albums in tandem with her ex-husband, the master guitarist and songwriter Richard Thompson, culminating in “Shoot Out the Lights,” a work consecrated by critics, in part because of its forensic dissection of the couple’s own crumbling marriage.

From New York Times

Related Words

• critique