analysis

anal·y·sis

noun \ə-ˈna-lə-səs\

plural anal·y·ses \-ˌsēz\

Definition of ANALYSIS

1

: separation of a whole into its component parts

2

a : the identification or separation of ingredients of a substance

b : a statement of the constituents of a mixture

3

a : proof of a mathematical proposition by assuming the result and deducing a valid statement by a series of reversible steps

b (1) : a branch of mathematics concerned mainly with limits, continuity, and infinite series (2) : calculus 1b

4

a : an examination of a complex, its elements, and their relations

b : a statement of such an analysis

5

a : a method in philosophy of resolving complex expressions into simpler or more basic ones

b : clarification of an expression by an elucidation of its use in discourse

6

: the use of function words instead of inflectional forms as a characteristic device of a language

7

: psychoanalysis

Examples of ANALYSIS

1. a scientific analysis of the data
2. make a chemical analysis of the soil
3. a detailed analysis of the bone structure of horses
4. performing chemical analysis of the soil
5. The newspaper printed an analysis of each candidate's positions.
6. That's not a bad analysis of the situation.
7. It's a problem that requires careful analysis.
8. He has been in analysis for many years.
9. His analyses expose hidden fractures with the clarity of an X-ray, and his rhetorical skill, though modulated in a journalistic style, owes much to the give and take of Euripides' crisp dialogue. —G. W. Bowersock, New York Review of Books, 6 Nov. 2008
10. In order to depict economic decisions mathematically, economists needed to assume that human behavior is both rational and predictable. They imagined a representative human, Homo economicus, endowed with consistent preferences, stable moods, and an enviable ability to make only rational decisions. This sleight of hand yielded some theories that had genuine predictive value, but economists were obliged to exclude from their analyses many phenomena that didn't fit the … framework, such as stock-market bubbles, drug addiction, and compulsive shopping. —John Cassidy, New Yorker, 18 Sept. 2006
11. Thus little more than a month before the convention was due to assemble in Philadelphia, James Madison fashioned a powerful and comprehensive analysis of the problems of federalism and republicanism. —Jack N. Rakove, Original Meanings, 1996
12. Thanks to some pioneering studies, and an increasing body of editions, translations, and detailed analyses, we now have a good general picture of the spiritual culture of late-medieval women on the Continent, especially in the Low Countries and Germany. —Nicholas Watsons, Speculum, July 1993

Origin of ANALYSIS

New Latin, from Greek, from analyein to break up, from ana- + lyein to loosen — more at lose

First Known Use: 1581

Related to ANALYSIS

Synonyms

anatomizing, anatomy, assay, breakdown, deconstruction, dissection

Related Words

assessment, diagnosis, evaluation, examination, inspection, investigation, muster, scrutiny; arrangement, assortment, cataloging (or cataloguing), categorization, classification, codification, indexing; enumeration, inventory, itemization, tabulation; division, reduction, segmentation, separation, subdivision

Near Antonyms

agglomeration, aggregation, amalgamation, assimilation, coalescence, conglomeration, consolidation, integration, synthesis, unification

Rhymes with ANALYSIS

catalysis, dialysis, paralysis

anal·y·sis

noun \ə-ˈnal-ə-səs\   (Medical Dictionary)

plural anal·y·ses \-ˌsēz\

Medical Definition of ANALYSIS

1

: separation of a whole into its component parts

2

a : the identification or separation of ingredients of a substance b : a statement of the constituents of a mixture

3

: psychoanalysis