/ dɪˈsekt; NAmE ; daɪ-/ verb [ vn ]
1.
to cut up a dead person, animal or plant in order to study it
2.
to study sth closely and/or discuss it in great detail :
Her latest novel was dissected by the critics.
3.
to divide sth into smaller pieces, areas, etc. :
The city is dissected by a network of old canals.
► dis·sec·tion / dɪˈsekʃn; NAmE ; daɪ-/ noun [ U , C ]:
anatomical dissection
Your enjoyment of a novel can suffer from too much analysis and dissection.
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WORD ORIGIN
late 16th cent.: from Latin dissect- cut up, from the verb dissecare , from dis- apart + secare to cut.