analysis

noun

anal·​y·​sis ə-ˈna-lə-səs 

plural analyses ə-ˈna-lə-ˌsēz 

1

a

: a detailed examination of anything complex in order to understand its nature or to determine its essential features : a thorough study

a careful analysis of the problem

b

: a statement, usually in writing, explaining the results of such an examination

published a detailed analysis of each candidate's platform

2

: separation of a whole into its component parts

the grammatical analysis of a sentence

3

a

: the identification or separation of ingredients of a substance

performed/conducted a chemical analysis of the soil

Growers can then send a wine sample to a lab for analysis …

—Ula Chrobak and Katarina Zimmer

b

: a statement of the constituents of a mixture

… saw a chemical analysis of what was in the … soil amendment.

—Parish Howard

4

mathematics

a

obsolete : 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 sense 1b

The method of indivisibles … led to the still more valuable invention of the fluxional analysis.

—T. Young

5

: psychoanalysis

a patient who is in/undergoing analysis

Psychoanalytic therapy … is a … less intense version of early Freudian analysis.

—Psychology Today

6

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

7

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

Traditionally, the history of English grammar has been described in terms of the shift from synthesis to analysis, i.e. from a language which expresses the relationship between words by means of inflectional endings joined to lexical stems to one which maps such relationships by means of function words such as prepositions.

—Laurel Brinton and Alexander Bergs

Synonyms of analysis

• investigation
• inspection
• assessment
• examination
• evaluation
• dissection

Examples of analysis in a Sentence

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

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

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

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

a scientific analysis of the data

make a chemical analysis of the soil

a detailed analysis of the bone structure of horses

performing chemical analysis of the soil

The newspaper printed an analysis of each candidate's positions.

That's not a bad analysis of the situation.

It's a problem that requires careful analysis.

He has been in analysis for many years.

Recent Examples on the Web

As commercial orbital platforms emerge, Outpost is positioning sample and product return as a core service for companies that need both access to space and analysis on Earth. — Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 3 Oct. 2026

For the median homeowner, that means forking over $188 a year on their $3,000 tax bill, according to a Miami Herald analysis of Miami-Dade Property Appraiser data. — Max Klaver, Miami Herald, 3 Oct. 2026

According to an analysis from California’s nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO), the tax could generate revenues in the tens of millions in the short term but cause decreases in income tax revenue in the future. — Juhi Doshi, ABC News, 3 Oct. 2026

Researchers investigating the site believed by some to be Noah's Ark have just wrapped up their first full field season — drilling more than 60 feet beneath the site and collecting hundreds of samples now undergoing laboratory analysis. — Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 2 Oct. 2026

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Medieval Latin, borrowed from Greek análysis "loosing, releasing, breaking something down into its elements, solution of a problem," from analýein "to loosen, undo, dissolve, resolve into constituent elements," from ana- ana- + lýein "to loosen, undo" — more at lose

First Known Use

1580, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing analysis

• activation analysis
• analysis of variance
• analysis situs
• cluster analysis
• content analysis
• defy analysis
• discourse analysis
• factor analysis
• Fourier analysis
• harmonic analysis
• high analysis
• in the final/last analysis
• meta-analysis
• neutron activation analysis
• numerical analysis
• philosophical analysis
• qualitative analysis
• quantitative analysis
• self-analysis
• systems analysis
• transactional analysis

Rhymes for analysis

• dialysis
• paralysis
• cryptanalysis
• urinalysis
• electrodialysis
• haemodialysis
• hemodialysis
• microanalysis
• psychoanalysis

Kids Definition

analysis

noun

anal·​y·​sis ə-ˈnal-ə-səs 

plural analyses -ə-ˌsēz 

1

a

: an examination of a whole to discover its elements and their relations

b

: a statement of such an analysis

2

: an explanation of the nature and meaning of something

analysis of the news

3

: the identification or separation of the parts of a substance

4

: psychoanalysis

Etymology

derived from Greek, from analyein "to break up," from ana- "up" and lyein "to loosen"

Medical Definition

analysis

noun

anal·​y·​sis ə-ˈnal-ə-səs 

plural analyses -ˌsēz 

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