as in to analyze
to identify and examine the basic elements or parts of (something) especially for discovering interrelationships
if you anatomize the problem, you'll see it stems from a combination of her bad behavior and your unwillingness to speak to her about it
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Recent Examples of anatomize
In The Rings of Saturn, W. G. Sebald anatomizes this depiction of a celebrated anatomy lesson, observing the improbably formal clothing of the men surrounding the prone cadaver, who wear opulent lace ruffs, while Tulp himself sports a wide-brimmed and high-crowned hat.
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Will Self, Harper's Magazine, 12 Sep. 2022
Her article deftly anatomizes Russia’s failures, but also goes into alarming depth about how the military leadership can call on hundreds of thousands of recruits, and better exploit the resources of a vast country to inflict greater pain on Ukraine.
—David Remnick, The New Yorker, 19 Feb. 2023
The critic will anatomize the subject from several angles.
—WIRED, 23 Feb. 2023
All of these exhibitions leave one feeling slightly guilty: The curators try to anatomize how power works, the strategies of mythmaking and image management, but the material on view is so seductive one forgets the larger intellectual construct.
—Philip Kennicott, Washington Post, 30 Dec. 2022
The film joins countless other creative efforts to understand and anatomize the movie star born Norma Jeane Mortensen, including biopics, TV series, biographies, photo books, essays, and even plays.
—Nathan Smith, Vulture, 23 Sep. 2022
And some of it was a compulsive need to re-define and re-anatomize what Carmichael and Hamilton had already defined and anatomized so well.
—Samanth Subramanian, Quartz, 1 Apr. 2021
Kundera, meanwhile, made his career on novels that anatomized kitsch and subsequently became kitsch, thanks to a generation of earnest high schoolers.
—Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 9 Oct. 2019
This is just one of many intergenerational failings that Kafka anatomizes.
—Jeremy Eichler, BostonGlobe.com, 18 June 2018
Will Self, Harper's Magazine, 12 Sep. 2022
Her article deftly anatomizes Russia’s failures, but also goes into alarming depth about how the military leadership can call on hundreds of thousands of recruits, and better exploit the resources of a vast country to inflict greater pain on Ukraine.
—David Remnick, The New Yorker, 19 Feb. 2023
The critic will anatomize the subject from several angles.
—WIRED, 23 Feb. 2023
All of these exhibitions leave one feeling slightly guilty: The curators try to anatomize how power works, the strategies of mythmaking and image management, but the material on view is so seductive one forgets the larger intellectual construct.
—Philip Kennicott, Washington Post, 30 Dec. 2022
The film joins countless other creative efforts to understand and anatomize the movie star born Norma Jeane Mortensen, including biopics, TV series, biographies, photo books, essays, and even plays.
—Nathan Smith, Vulture, 23 Sep. 2022
And some of it was a compulsive need to re-define and re-anatomize what Carmichael and Hamilton had already defined and anatomized so well.
—Samanth Subramanian, Quartz, 1 Apr. 2021
Kundera, meanwhile, made his career on novels that anatomized kitsch and subsequently became kitsch, thanks to a generation of earnest high schoolers.
—Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 9 Oct. 2019
This is just one of many intergenerational failings that Kafka anatomizes.
—Jeremy Eichler, BostonGlobe.com, 18 June 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for anatomize
Verb
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Be Transparent With Your Thought Process Demonstrate your logic: When analyzing an issue with your client, explain your own reasoning process.Gamze Acar Bayraktaroglu, Forbes, 3 Dec. 2024
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An inarticulate protagonist—a protagonist who isn’t much given to verbally analyzing his own experience—seemed to provide an opportunity to approach things another way, indirectly or suggestively.Dennis Zhou, The New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2024
Verb
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What transpired over the next few days and how Wood ended up drowning in the dark waters off the coast of the island has been dissected for decades.Alex Gurley, People.com, 29 Nov. 2024
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This is a high-profile case that’s been dissected many times.Brande Victorian, The Hollywood Reporter, 26 Nov. 2024
Verb
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Cramer examined why each stock saw gains, attributing some of their recent successes to the assumption that President-elect Donald Trump’s new regulators will largely abandon efforts to curb big business’ power.Julie Coleman, CNBC, 11 Dec. 2024
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Set during 18 pivotal months in the early 1970s, the film examines the couple’s time living in Greenwich Village, New York City, when their personal and creative worlds collided.Jessica Lynch, Billboard, 11 Dec. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near anatomize
Cite this Entry
“Anatomize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/anatomize. Accessed 18 Dec. 2024.
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