analyse
Formsanalyses, analysing, analysed
US spellinganalyze
- 1To examine something closely in order to discover what it is made of or what its true nature is.
The laboratory will analyse the soil samples for traces of lead and other metals.
Moral philosophers analyse an action by asking what the person intended and what followed from it.
UsageFollowed directly by what is examined: analyse the results. The noun is analysis, plural analyses.
Similarexamine, test, study, investigate, scrutinise
- 2To break something complex down into its basic parts or elements, often so that each one can be examined on its own.
It helps to analyse a large problem into a series of smaller, manageable questions.
The report analyses household spending into housing, transport, food and leisure.
UsageOften with into: analyse a problem into smaller questions.
Similardivide, split, dissect, decompose
Oppositesynthesise, combine
Practice
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Origin
Analysis probably gave rise to this word by back-formation; another possibility is Middle French analyser, based on analyse, from Medieval Latin analysis. The ultimate source is Ancient Greek análusis ("a breaking up, a loosening, releasing"), from analúō ("to unloose, release, set free"), a compound of aná ("up, throughout") and lúō ("to unfasten").