Pronunciations (2)
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/əˈnætəmaɪz/
Pronunciation notes
- Received-Pronunciation
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/əˈnætəmaɪz/
Pronunciation notes
- General-American
Verb
To cut up or dissect (the body of a human being or an animal), specifically for the purpose of investigating its anatomy.
Usage- British
- English
- Oxford
- US usage
- Archaic
- Transitive
- Examples
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VVho but a Foppe vvil labour to anatomize a Flye?
Then let them anotomize Regan, ſee vvhat breeds about her / Hart[,] is there any cauſe in nature that makes this hardnes, […]
More examples (3)
[A]bout him lay the carkaſſes of many ſeuerall beaſts, nevvly by him cut vp and Anatomiſed, […]
VVell my dear I'll provide for thy going off hovvever: let me ſee! you'll only have occaſion for a Noſegay, a pair of VVhite Gloves, and a Coffin: look you, take you no care about the Surgeons, you ſhall not be Anatomiz'd— […]
He did not care the least about Fanny now: he wondered how he ever should have cared: and according to his custom made an autopsy of that dead passion, and anatomised his own defunct sensation for his poor little nurse.
To cut up or dissect (the body of a human being or an animal), specifically for the purpose of investigating its anatomy. To punish (someone) by post mortem dissection following execution.
Usage- British
- English
- Oxford
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- Archaic
- Transitive
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More examples (1)
[…] Surgeon's Hall, where malefactors were anatomised after execution—a Sanguinary but Salutary custom—was in the Old Bailey, over against the leads of the Sessions House […]
To cut up or dissect (a plant or one of its parts) to investigate its structure.
Usage- British
- English
- Oxford
- US usage
- Archaic
- Transitive
To scrutinize (something) down to the most minute detail.
Usage- British
- English
- Oxford
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- Archaic
- Figurative
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Near-synonyms: atomize, analyze
I ſpeake but brotherly of him, but ſhould I anathomize him to thee, as hee is, I muſt bluſh, and vveepe, and thou muſt look pale and vvonder.
More examples (11)
I vvould gladly haue him ſee his company anathomiz'd, that hee might take a meaſure of his ovvne iudgements, vvherein ſo curiouſly he had ſet this counterfeit.
[O]ne ſhould reade all the Topographers that ever vvrit of, or anatomiz'd a Tovvn or Countrey, and mingle Diſcourſe vvith the moſt exact obſervers of the Government thereof, and labour to dravv out of them all they poſſibly knovv or can remember; […]
In the precedent Subſections, I haue anatomiſed thoſe inferiour Faculties of the Soule; the Rationall remaineth, a pleaſant, but a doubtfull Subiect, as one termes it, and vvith the like brevity to be diſcuſſed.
It is ſaid of ſtony ground, that the ſeed that fell among ſtones, are they that receive the vvord vvith joy (there is their delight to hear) but not having deep root, in times of perſecution fell avvay [Matthew 13:20–21]. Here the Scripture Anatomizeth a man, that he may hear the vvord vvith joy ſometimes, vvhen the current of the times run for Religion, vvhen the vvord comes in faſhion among a people; but if perſecution ſhould attend the vvord, and a priſon attend hearing, you vvould then ſee hovv flag their delights vvould be in hearing the vvord: […]
[I]f a poor Country Gentlevvoman fall vvithin their circuit, vvhat a ſtock of mirth does ſhe afford them, hovv curiouſly do they anatomiſe every part of her dreſs, her meen, her dialect, […]
VVhen Evil ſurprizes us, vve commonly affright our ſelves, by beholding it in its groſs Bulk; our ſcattered Spirits, are aſtoniſhed at an Infinite Bugbear. VVhereas, if vve take a more particular Survey of the dreadful Object, anatomize and vievv it Piece by Piece; vve find, that the greateſt part of vvhat ſo diſmay'd us, had no other Exiſtence, than in our ovvn Imagination.
But if thou takeſt a more particular Survey of the dreadful Object, anatomiſeſt and vievveſt it Piece by Piece, thou vvilt find, that the greateſt Part of vvhat diſmay'd thee, had no other Exiſtence than in thy ovvn Imagination.
There are people, vvho have ſplit and anatomiſed the doctrine of free Government, as if it vvere an abſtract queſtion concerning metaphyſical liberty and neceſſity; and not a matter of moral prudence and natural feeling.
He ſeems to have read a great deal of French criticiſm, and vvants to make it his ovvn; as if he had been for years anatomiſing the heart of man, and peeping into every cranny of it.
I am not one of those who anatomise their own married happiness for the edification of the whole public, and make fame, if not money, out of their own wives' hearts.
If Mrs. Noakes knew how unsparingly she was anatomised, then she possessed more fortitude of character than either Mira or her daughter ever diagnosed, for despite her initial resistance to Shelley's sudden change of course, and despite her frequent sharing of career vacancy advertisements 'just to give you a sense of what's out there', Mrs Noakes had really come around to Birnam Wood; in fact, it pained Shelley to admit, when her mother spoke about it now, it was with real pride and admiration.
To chemically analyse (a substance).
Usage- British
- English
- Oxford
- US usage
- Archaic
- Figurative
- Obsolete
- Transitive
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More examples (2)
Laſtly, it can not be othervviſe but that the fire, in all this vvhile of continuall application to the body it thus anatomiſeth, hath hardned and as it vvere roſted ſome partes into ſuch greatneſſe and dryneſſe as they vvill not fly, not can be carried vp vvith any moderate heate.
Tell me, philosopher, thou who arrogatest to thyself the proud name, and who callest the cloud a vapour, and anatomizest the free and ambient air into thy wretched hydrogen and nitrogen,—tell me, dost thou know what it is to shed the tear of rapture, or indulge the sweet pain of romance?
To cut up or dissect the body of a human being or an animal.
Usage- British
- English
- Oxford
- US usage
- Archaic
- Intransitive
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More examples (3)
The most learned philosopher […] might dissect, anatomise, and give names; but, not to speak of a final cause, causes in their secondary and tertiary grades were utterly unknown to him.
Impiety? Not if I know myself! / Not if you know the heart and soul, I bare, / I bid you cut, hack, slash, anatomize, / Till peccant part be found and flung away!
He [John Keats] was a youth of energy and purpose, and though he no doubt penned many a stanza when he should have been anatomizing, and walked the hospitals accompanied by the early gods, nevertheless passed a very creditable examination in 1817.
Verb
dissect in order to analyze
- Synonyms
- Broader terms
- Examples
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anatomize the bodies of the victims of this strange disease
analyze down to the smallest detail
- Examples
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This writer anatomized the depth of human behavior