vivisect

[ viv-uh-sekt, viv-uh-sekt ]

verb (used with object)

1. to dissect the living body of (an animal).

verb (used without object)

1. to practice vivisection.

vivisect

/ ˌvɪvɪˈsɛkt; ˈvɪvɪˌsɛkt /

verb

1. to subject (an animal) to vivisection

Derived Forms

• ˈviviˌsector, noun

Other Words From

• vivi·sector noun
• self-vivi·sector noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of vivisect¹

First recorded in 1860–65; back formation from vivisection

Word History and Origins

Origin of vivisect¹

C19: back formation from vivisection

Example Sentences

For example, standing right next to a table featuring a prop body vivisected in all of its gruesomeness was a hovering staff person and that was a distraction.

From Washington Times

It didn’t help that she was pressured to watch a boy vivisect a live crawfish with his pocket knife.

From Los Angeles Times

The 17th-century French philosopher René Descartes infamously vivisected dogs because he believed only human beings could have souls.

From Salon

Rarely has a film so neatly emotionally vivisected me as this one about a villain best known for wanting to skin puppies to make a coat.

From The Verge

Visuals to remind a player that he is always near death include ravens picking at dead meat, bodies hung outdoors and a vivisected corpse lying on a morgue table, for example.

From Washington Times