dissection

D2I1S1S1E1C3T1I1O1N1
/dɪˈsɛkʃən//daɪˈsɛkʃən/

noun

The act of dissecting.

“neck dissection”

OriginLatin dissectiōnem ← Middle French dissection →
Less commonScrabble 13
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Meanings

noundissection (countable and uncountable, plural dissections)

plural dissections

  1. countableuncountableThe act of dissecting.

    The preliminary findings, released by Graham’s office, found that Graham’s death was caused by “aortic dissection due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease.” Aortic dissection is a life-threatening medical emergency where a tear occurs in the inner wall of the aorta, the body’s main artery.

    2026 July 12, Jordain Carney, Cheyanne M. Daniels, “Graham’s office releases preliminary cause of death”, in POLITICO
    1 more example

    Most of the carotid artery dissections (CADs) occur spontaneously [2]. Only about 4% of all CADs result from a (poly-) trauma such as a motor vehicle accident (MVA) [4]. Bilateral ICA dissection following blunt trauma, as described in our case, have a special role in the current literature, because they are only very rarely described.

    2015 July 22, Moritz Crönlein et al., “Traumatic bilateral carotid artery dissection following severe blunt trauma: a case report on the difficulties in diagnosis and therapy of an often overlooked life-threatening injury”, in European Journal of Medical Research, volume 20, →DOI, archived from the original on 06 Feb 2025
  2. countableuncountableSomething dissected.
  3. countablefigurativelyuncountableA minute and detailed examination or analysis.
  4. countableuncountablemedicineSurgical removal.

    neck dissection

    1 more example

    lymph node dissection

Origin

  1. Middle Frenchdissection
  2. Latindissectiōnem
  3. Englishdissection

Borrowed from Latin dissectiōnem, perhaps via Middle French dissection. By surface analysis, dissect + -ion.

More words from Latin, Middle French

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Ancient Greek ἀνατομή
  • ἀνατομή (anatomḗ)the act of dissecting, of cutting a dead body apart
Bulgarian дисе́кция, анализ
  • дисе́кция (disékcija)the act of dissecting, of cutting a dead body apart
  • анализ (analiz)examination
Catalan dissecció
  • disseccióthe act of dissecting, of cutting a dead body apart
Chinese Mandarin 解剖
  • 解剖 (jiěpōu)the act of dissecting, of cutting a dead body apart
Czech pitva
  • pitvathe act of dissecting, of cutting a dead body apart
Danish dissektion
  • dissektionthe act of dissecting, of cutting a dead body apart
Finnish ruumiinavaus, analyysi
  • ruumiinavausthe act of dissecting, of cutting a dead body apart
  • analyysiexamination
  • ruodintaexamination
French dissection
  • dissectionthe act of dissecting, of cutting a dead body apart
German Präparation, Dissektion
  • Präparationthe act of dissecting, of cutting a dead body apart
  • Dissektionthe act of dissecting, of cutting a dead body apart
Greek ανατομή
  • ανατομή (anatomí)the act of dissecting, of cutting a dead body apart
Hindi व्यवच्छेदन, विच्छेदन
  • व्यवच्छेदन (vyavacchedan)the act of dissecting, of cutting a dead body apart
  • विच्छेदन (vicchedan)the act of dissecting, of cutting a dead body apart
  • चीर-फाड़ (cīr-phāṛ)the act of dissecting, of cutting a dead body apart
Hungarian boncolás
  • boncolásthe act of dissecting, of cutting a dead body apart
Icelandic líkskurður
  • líkskurðurthe act of dissecting, of cutting a dead body apart
Italian dissezione
  • dissezionethe act of dissecting, of cutting a dead body apart
Japanese 解剖
  • 解剖 (kaibō)the act of dissecting, of cutting a dead body apart
Korean 해부
  • 해부 (haebu)the act of dissecting, of cutting a dead body apart
Latin dissectio
  • dissectiothe act of dissecting, of cutting a dead body apart
Norwegian Bokmål disseksjon
  • disseksjonthe act of dissecting, of cutting a dead body apart
Portuguese dissecação
  • dissecaçãothe act of dissecting, of cutting a dead body apart
Romanian disecție
  • disecțiethe act of dissecting, of cutting a dead body apart
Russian диссе́кция, рассече́ние
  • диссе́кция (dissékcija)the act of dissecting, of cutting a dead body apart
  • рассече́ние (rassečénije)the act of dissecting, of cutting a dead body apart
  • разреза́ние (razrezánije)the act of dissecting, of cutting a dead body apart
  • препари́рование (preparírovanije)the act of dissecting, of cutting a dead body apart
  • ана́лиз (análiz)examination
  • разбо́р (razbór)examination
  • изуче́ние (izučénije)examination
  • иссле́дование (isslédovanije)examination
Slovak pitva
  • pitvathe act of dissecting, of cutting a dead body apart
Spanish disección, disección
  • disecciónthe act of dissecting, of cutting a dead body apart
  • disecciónexamination
Swedish dissektion
  • dissektionthe act of dissecting, of cutting a dead body apart
Tagalog panisnisan
  • panisnisanthe act of dissecting, of cutting a dead body apart
Ukrainian дисе́кція, ро́зтин
  • дисе́кція (dysékcija)the act of dissecting, of cutting a dead body apart
  • ро́зтин (róztyn)the act of dissecting, of cutting a dead body apart
  • розсі́чення (rozsíčennja)the act of dissecting, of cutting a dead body apart
Welsh dyrannu
  • dyrannuthe act of dissecting, of cutting a dead body apart

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with dissection

sectioncollectionprotectionselectionconnectionelectiondirectioninspectiondetectioninfectioncorrectionprojectioninjectionreflectionrejectionperfectionobjectionresurrectionerectionaffectionconvectionrecollectioncomplexiondeflection
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

dissection. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dissection

MLA

“dissection.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dissection. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “dissection,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dissection.

Source: dissection on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.