anatomise

See also: anatomisé

English

Verb

anatomise (third-person singular simple present anatomises, present participle anatomising, simple past and past participle anatomised) (non-Oxford British English)

1. Alternative spelling of anatomize.
   • 1621, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], “Democritus Iunior to the Reader”, in The Anatomy of Melancholy, […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and Iames Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, page 5:

     [A]bout him lay the carkaſſes of many ſeuerall beaſts, nevvly by him cut vp and Anatomiſed, […]

   • 1644, Kenelme [i.e., Kenelm] Digby, “Of the Dissolution of Mixed Bodies”, in Two Treatises. In the One of which, the Nature of Bodies; in the Other, the Nature of Mans Soule; is Looked into: In Way of Discovery, of the Immortality of Reasonable Soules, Paris: […] Gilles Blaizot, →OCLC, 1st treatise (Declaring the Nature and Operations of Bodies), paragraph 6, page 135:

     Laſtly, it can not be othervviſe but that the fire, in all this vvhile of continuall application to the body it thus anatomiſeth, hath hardned and as it vvere roſted ſome partes into ſuch greatneſſe and dryneſſe as they vvill not fly, not can be carried vp vvith any moderate heate.

     Used to refer to fire breaking down a substance.

   • 1673, [Richard Allestree], “Sect[ion] IV. Of Affability.”, in The Ladies Calling. […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: Printed at the [Sheldonian] Theatre, →OCLC, part I, page 79:

     [I]f a poor Country Gentlevvoman fall vvithin their circuit, vvhat a ſtock of mirth does ſhe afford them, hovv curiouſly do they anatomiſe every part of her dreſs, her meen, her dialect, […]

   • 1727, Thomas Fuller, compiler, Introductio ad Prudentiam: Or, Directions, Counsels, and Cautions, Tending to Prudent Management of Affairs in Common Life. The Second Part. […], London: […] [William Bowyer] for Stephen Austen […], →OCLC, paragraph 3027, page 174:

     But if thou takeſt a more particular Survey of the dreadful Object, anatomiſeſt and vievveſt it Piece by Piece, thou vvilt find, that the greateſt Part of vvhat diſmay'd thee, had no other Exiſtence than in thy ovvn Imagination.

     A paraphrase of the 1691 quotation at anatomize with a variant spelling.

   • 1777, Edmund Burke, A Letter from Edmund Burke, Esq; One of the Representatives in Parliament for the City of Bristol, to John Farr and John Harris, Esqrs, Sheriffs of that City, on the Affairs of America, London: […] J[ames] Dodsley, […], →OCLC, page 53:

     There are people, vvho have ſplit and anatomiſed the doctrine of free Government, as if it vvere an abſtract queſtion concerning metaphyſical liberty and neceſſity; and not a matter of moral prudence and natural feeling.

   • 1791, James Boswell, quoting Samuel Johnson, “[1769]”, in James Boswell, editor, The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D. […], volume I, London: […] Henry Baldwin, for Charles Dilly, […], →OCLC, page 319:

     He ſeems to have read a great deal of French criticiſm, and vvants to make it his ovvn; as if he had been for years anatomiſing the heart of man, and peeping into every cranny of it.

   • 1831 October 31, Mary W[ollstonecraft] Shelley, chapter II, in Frankenstein: Or, The Modern Prometheus (Standard Novels; IX), 3rd edition, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, pages 26–27:

     The most learned philosopher […] might dissect, anatomise, and give names; but, not to speak of a final cause, causes in their secondary and tertiary grades were utterly unknown to him.

   • 1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, “Convalescence”, in The History of Pendennis. […], volume II, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1850, →OCLC, page 139:

     He did not care the least about Fanny now: he wondered how he ever should have cared: and according to his custom made an autopsy of that dead passion, and anatomised his own defunct sensation for his poor little nurse.

   • 1857, Charles Kingsley, “The Recognition”, in Two Years Ago, volume I, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Macmillan and Co., →OCLC, page 251:

     I am not one of those who anatomise their own married happiness for the edification of the whole public, and make fame, if not money, out of their own wives' hearts.

   • 1863, George Augustus Sala, “Of Certain Ticklish Ups and Downs in My Life: Amongst Others of My Being Pressed for Service in the Fleet”, in The Strange Adventures of Captain Dangerous: […], volume II, London: Tinsley Brothers, […], →OCLC, page 224:

     […] Surgeon's Hall, where malefactors were anatomised after execution—a Sanguinary but Salutary custom—was in the Old Bailey, over against the leads of the Sessions House […]

   • 2023, Eleanor Catton, Birnam Wood […], [Toronto, Ont.]: McClelland & Stewart, →ISBN, pages 15–16:

     If Mrs. Noakes knew how unsparingly she was anatomised, then she possessed more fortitude of character than either Mira or her daughter ever diagnosed, for despite her initial resistance to Shelley's sudden change of course, and despite her frequent sharing of career vacancy advertisements 'just to give you a sense of what's out there', Mrs Noakes had really come around to Birnam Wood; in fact, it pained Shelley to admit, when her mother spoke about it now, it was with real pride and admiration.

Conjugation

Conjugation of anatomise

infinitive	(to) anatomise
	present tense	past tense
1st-person singular	anatomise	anatomised
2nd-person singular	anatomise, anatomisest†	anatomised, anatomisedst†
3rd-person singular	anatomises, anatomiseth†	anatomised
plural	anatomise
subjunctive	anatomise	anatomised
imperative	anatomise	—
participles	anatomising	anatomised

^† Archaic or obsolete.

Anagrams

• anatomies, metanoias

French

Pronunciation

• Homophones: anatomisent, anatomises

Verb

anatomise

1. inflection of anatomiser:
   1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
   2. second-person singular imperative