- the division of a physical or abstract whole into its constituent parts to examine or determine their relationship or value
Compare synthesis - a statement of the results of this
short for psychoanalysis - the decomposition of a substance into its elements, radicals, or other constituents in order to determine the kinds of constituents present (qualitative analysis) or the amount of each constituent (quantitative analysis)
- the result obtained by such a determination
- the use of word order together with word function to express syntactic relations in a language, as opposed to the use of inflections
Compare synthesis - the branch of mathematics principally concerned with the properties of functions, largely arising out of calculus
- in the last analysis, in the final analysis, in the ultimate analysis ⇒ after everything has been given due consideration
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
a•nal•y•sis /əˈnæləsɪs/USA pronunciation
n., pl. -ses
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- /-ˌsiz/.USA pronunciation
- the process of analyzing: [uncountable]analysis of a problem.[countable]chemical analyses.
- a presentation of the results of this process:[countable]The newspaper article was a good analysis of the problem.
- Psychotherapy[uncountable]psychoanalysis.
a•nal•y•sis
(ə nal′ə sis),USA pronunciation n., pl. -ses
-
(-sēz′).USA pronunciation
- the separating of any material or abstract entity into its constituent elements (opposed to synthesis).
- this process as a method of studying the nature of something or of determining its essential features and their relations:the grammatical analysis of a sentence.
- a presentation, usually in writing, of the results of this process:The paper published an analysis of the political situation.
- Philosophya philosophical method of exhibiting complex concepts or propositions as compounds or functions of more basic ones.
- Mathematics
- an investigation based on the properties of numbers.
- the discussion of a problem by algebra, as opposed to geometry.
- the branch of mathematics consisting of calculus and its higher developments.
- a system of calculation, as combinatorial analysis or vector analysis.
- a method of proving a proposition by assuming the result and working backward to something that is known to be true. Cf. synthesis (def. 4).
- Chemistry
- intentionally produced decomposition or separation of materials into their ingredients or elements, as to find their kind or quantity.
- the ascertainment of the kind or amount of one or more of the constituents of materials, whether obtained in separate form or not. Cf. qualitative analysis, quantitative analysis.
- Psychotherapypsychoanalysis.
- ComputingSee systems analysis.
- Greek, equivalent. to analý̄(ein) to loosen up (ana- ana- + lý̄ein to loosen) + -sis -sis
- Neo-Latin
- 1575–85
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
analysis /əˈnælɪsɪs/ n ( pl -ses /-ˌsiːz/)