French Conversation · Level 146
30 words
French word
décortiquer
Pronunciation
IPA/dekɔʁtike/
Meaning
- verbshell
Example
Avant de cuisiner, il faut décortiquer les crevettes.
Before cooking, you have to shell the shrimp.
More examples
En réunion, elle a décortiqué le projet point par point.
In the meeting, she dissected the project point by point.
Core concept
An outer covering lifted away to reveal an inside that can be examined piece by piece.
Common phrases
décortiquer une idée
dissect an idea
décortiquer une phrase
dissect a sentence
Similar words
analyser: To divide information or a subject into elements and study their meaning and connections.
examiner: To inspect something carefully, including its condition and fine details.
étudier: To study a subject thoroughly over time in order to understand it.
détailler: To explain content point by point, covering its finer details.
Definition in French
Retirer la coquille ou la peau d'un aliment ; au sens figuré, disséquer ou analyser point par point une idée, un texte ou un problème.
Word origin
Décortiquer comes from Latin decorticare, formed with de- and cortex, meaning to remove an outer covering, and later extends to detailed analysis.
Usage tips
- As a transitive verb, décortiquer takes a direct object without a preposition, as in décortiquer les crevettes and décortiquer un texte.
Other meanings
- analyzeverb
- examine closelyverb
Related words
- décorticationdissectionnoun