vivisect

verb

viv·​i·​sect ˈvi-və-ˌsekt How to pronounce vivisect (audio)
vivisected; vivisecting; vivisects

transitive verb

: to perform vivisection on : subject to vivisection

intransitive verb

: to practice vivisection
vivisector noun

Examples of vivisect in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Compare these to artists like Marlene Dumas or Tracey Emin, who seem to vivisect their own souls and the souls of all women in beautifully complex paintings, or Carroll Dunham’s coital pictures of couples in flagrante delicto or warring with one another. Jerry Saltz, Vulture, 12 Nov. 2021 Its members seek to avenge the natural world, to kill scientists who vivisect animals or breed germs for warfare. Katy Waldman, The New Yorker, 20 Sep. 2021 Indeed, the characters use every conceivable swear word in English—and a few in French—to vivisect each other with almost Shakespearean invective (if Shakespeare had been drunk, Canadian, and a survivor of several concussive jet-ski accidents). Cintra Wilson, The New York Review of Books, 24 July 2020 Ben Thompson, the founder of Stratechery, a website that vivisects Silicon Valley companies, has incisively described Amazon’s master plan. Franklin Foer, The Atlantic, 10 Oct. 2019 And quite possibly, no recent film better exemplifies these triumphs than Beyoncé's best documentary feature hopeful Homecoming, which vivisects the commitment required to be a modern-day pop legend. Robyn Bahr, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 Nov. 2019 Watchmen‘s cast is quite a bit more diverse than the comic book, which honored (and, to be clear, totally vivisected) the white-dudes-plus-a-lady layout of most pre-millennial superteams. Darren Franich, EW.com, 15 Oct. 2019 When Maza lodged his complaints about Crowder — whose actual offense, it should be noted, was occasionally vivisecting Maza’s purported acts of journalism — the powers that be at YouTube did their best impersonation of Pontius Pilate. Kevin D. Williamson, National Review, 6 June 2019 Michael Shannon is the ruthless government agent who would like to vivisect the creature. Robin Givhan, chicagotribune.com, 4 Mar. 2018

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'vivisect.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

back-formation from vivisection

First Known Use

1864, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of vivisect was in 1864

Dictionary Entries Near vivisect

Cite this Entry

“Vivisect.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vivisect. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

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