analysis

noun

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anal·y·sis | \ ə-ˈna-lə-səs

plural analyses\ ə-ˈna-lə-ˌsēz

Definition of analysis

1a : a detailed examination of anything complex in order to understand its nature or to determine its essential features : a thorough study doing a careful analysis of the problem

b : a statement of such an examination

2 : separation of a whole into its component parts

3a : the identification or separation of ingredients of a substance a chemical analysis of the soil

b : a statement of the constituents of a mixture

4 mathematics

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 sense 1b

5 : psychoanalysis a patient who is in/undergoing analysis

6a : 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

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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 That said, Scoles feels an unbiased analysis of available data could shed light on the true frequency of UAP observations—and perhaps on the characteristics and possibly identities of these sightings. — Leonard David, Scientific American, 8 June 2021 In an analysis of FDA rulings between 2008 and 2015, Ross and colleagues found 89% of drug-approval decisions aligned with advisory committee recommendations. — Kelly Servick, Science | AAAS, 7 June 2021 In a stunning reversal in October 2019, Biogen announced that an analysis of additional data had led to the drug’s resurrection. — BostonGlobe.com, 7 June 2021 However in a separate analysis of the data after the trials were ended, Biogen said that there was a benefit in both trials. — Leah Rosenbaum, Forbes, 7 June 2021 Biogen, which developed the drug with the Japanese pharmaceutical firm Eisai Co., later said that a new analysis of one of the studies showed the drug worked at higher doses. — Amina Khan, Los Angeles Times, 7 June 2021 And while most people saved their last two checks, an analysis of national Census data last month by researchers at the University of Michigan suggested that those latter payments may have had a profound effect on the lowest income Americans. — Mike Rogoway | The Oregonian/oregonlive, oregonlive, 6 June 2021 The New York Times has an interesting analysis of President Trump this morning. — ABC News, 6 June 2021 In 2016, 58 percent of students whose parents took out parent PLUS loans were white, 19 percent were Black, and 15 percent were Hispanic or Latino, according to Ms. Fishman’s analysis of federal data. — New York Times, 6 June 2021

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'analysis.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for analysis

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

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