October 07, 2011
- analyze (verb)
- \AN-uh-lyze\

- What does it mean?
- : to study or find out the nature and relationship of the parts of (something) by examination of the whole
- How do you use it?
- The instructions on the test said to analyze the diagram and then answer the questions about it.
- Are you a word wiz?
Analyze the following choices and tell us which one you think is a synonym of "analyze."
If after careful analysis, you chose B, you've got a good handle on today's Buzzword. Although the earliest meaning of the word "dissect" is "to cut up (as a plant or animal) into separate parts for examination and study," another common meaning is "to make a careful examination of," as in "dissecting a story." In this way, both "analyze" and "dissect" have to do with dividing a complex whole into its parts or elements.

