analyse

analyse — verb

1. to look carefully at information, a situation, or how something works, breaking

1.verbtransitiveB2
Definition

to look carefully at information, a situation, or how something works, breaking it into smaller parts so that you can understand it better and draw conclusions.

Example

Dr. Patel asked her students to analyse the survey results before next Monday's class.

analyse + noun (data/results)

The coach spent two hours analysing the team's mistakes from Saturday's match.

progressive form: analysing + noun

Common collocations
  • analyse data
  • analyse the situation
  • analyse the results
  • carefully analyse
  • critically analyse
Synonyms
  • examine

    more general; can mean a quick look as well as deep study

  • study

    broader and longer-term; covers reading and learning, not only breaking into parts

  • evaluate

    focuses on judging value or quality after looking carefully

  • scrutinise

    stresses very close, critical inspection, often for problems

Antonyms
  • synthesise

    combine separate parts into a whole rather than breaking them apart

  • overlook

    fail to look at or notice something carefully

Grammar Patterns

analyse + noun

analyse + wh-clause

Usage Note

Spelled 'analyse' in British English and 'analyze' in American English; both forms have the same meaning. Subjects are typically people or organisations, and objects are typically information, data, texts, or situations rather than physical materials.

Common Mistakes

I will analyse on the data tomorrow.
I will analyse the data tomorrow.
'analyse' is transitive and takes a direct object without 'on'.
Let me analyse about your problem.
Let me analyse your problem.
no preposition between 'analyse' and its object.

2. to test a physical material like blood, water, or soil in a laboratory, often by

2.verbtransitiveC1
Definition

to test a physical material like blood, water, or soil in a laboratory, often by separating the parts inside it, so that you can find out what chemicals or other things it is made of.

Example

The lab analysed water samples from the river for traces of lead.

analyse + noun + for + noun (target chemical)

Nurse Lin sent the blood to be analysed at the hospital across town.

passive: be analysed

Common collocations
  • analyse a sample
  • analyse blood
  • analyse soil
  • chemically analyse
Synonyms
  • test

    broader and more everyday; doesn't always involve chemical breakdown

  • assay

    technical term used in metallurgy and pharmacy for measuring purity

Grammar Patterns

analyse + noun (substance)

analyse + noun + for + noun

Usage Note

Object is a physical substance (blood, soil, water, food, gas, rocks), unlike sense 1 where the object is information or a situation. Frequently appears in passive form in scientific reports ('was analysed for...').

Common Mistakes

The doctor analysed me to find the disease.
The doctor analysed my blood sample to find the disease.
when meaning a chemical test, the object should be the substance, not the person.

3. to treat a person's mental or emotional problems by helping them talk about hidd

3.verbtransitiveC1
Definition

to treat a person's mental or emotional problems by helping them talk about hidden thoughts, dreams, and childhood memories, using the methods developed by Freud and other early psychoanalysts.

Example

Dr. Weber has been analysing the same patient twice a week for three years.

long-term continuous treatment

After her divorce, Helena was analysed by a therapist in Vienna for nearly a decade.

passive: be analysed by + therapist

Common collocations
  • analyse a patient
  • be analysed by a therapist
Synonyms
  • psychoanalyse

    fuller and clearer term; same meaning

  • treat

    much broader; covers any medical care, not only psychoanalysis

Grammar Patterns

analyse + person

Usage Note

Object is always a person (patient, client), distinguishing this sense from senses 1 and 2 where the object is information or a substance. Mostly used in clinical and academic contexts about Freudian or related therapy.

Common Mistakes

My friend keeps analysing me whenever I share my problems.
My friend keeps psychoanalysing me whenever I share my problems.
in everyday talk about reading someone's mind, 'psychoanalyse' is clearer and avoids confusion with sense 1.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

All five verbs describe looking carefully at something, but they differ in scope and purpose. 'Analyse' specifically means breaking a topic into smaller parts to understand how those parts fit together — for example, analysing a company's losses by month, region, and product. 'Examine' is the most general; it can mean a quick check (a doctor examines a sore knee) or a deeper inspection. 'Study' suggests longer, broader engagement, often through reading and observation, with no requirement to take things apart. 'Evaluate' adds a judgement step: after looking carefully, you decide whether something is good, useful, or worth the cost. 'Scrutinise' is the most intense — a slow, critical, often suspicious look, typically used when searching for errors or hidden problems, as in 'auditors scrutinised every receipt'.

analyse ↗examine ↗study ↗evaluate ↗scrutinise ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • analyse the data
  • analyse the situation
  • analyse the results
  • have something analysed

Prepositions

  • for (chemical target)
  • by (method)

Etymology

GreekFrenchEnglish

Built on the Greek noun 'analysis', from 'analyein' meaning 'to loosen up' or 'undo' — formed from 'ana-' (up, throughout) and 'lyein' (to loosen, untie). The verb entered English in the early 1600s through French 'analyser', first used in chemistry for breaking substances into their parts, and later extended to careful study of any kind. The British spelling 'analyse' follows the French model, while American English standardised on 'analyze' in the 19th century under Noah Webster's influence.