deconstructing
Analyzing component parts
Deconstructing is taking something apart to examine its components or assumptions.
You might deconstruct an argument to expose its flaws, or deconstruct a recipe by breaking it into techniques.
In literary and philosophical contexts, deconstruction analyzes texts to reveal hidden contradictions or unstated assumptions: The essay deconstructs the myth of the self-made man.
In cooking, a deconstructed dish presents traditional components separately: deconstructed lasagna.
Grammatology's French author
- poststructuralismPhilosophy questioning stable meaning
- signifierMeaning-bearing form
- signifiedExpressed meaning symbolically
- discourseFormal communication on subjects
hermeneutics · semiotics · decentering · trace · presence · absence · metaphysics · intertextuality
Separate into parts
- take apartSeparate into components
- strip downRemove covering or components
- unbuildReverse construction process
- disarticulateSeparate at joints
unravel · disentangle · decompose · reverse-engineer · dissect · break down · pull apart · unpick
Test of ability
- interrogateQuestion formally and persistently
- destabilizeMake unsteady or insecure
- subvertSecretly weaken authority
- questionRequest for information
undermine · problematize · expose · reveal · unmask · denaturalize · delegitimize · complicate
Surface metal application
- reimaginingFresh interpretation of existing material
- molecular gastronomyScientific study of cooking
- componentsConstituent parts
- elementsFundamental parts or substances
presentation · texture · essence · reinterpretation · elevated · refined · artistic · nouvelle
Derrida
Grammatology's French author
- poststructuralismPhilosophy questioning stable meaning
- signifierMeaning-bearing form
- signifiedExpressed meaning symbolically
discourse · hermeneutics · semiotics · decentering · trace · presence · absence · metaphysics · intertextuality · subtext
disassemble
Separate into parts
- take apartSeparate into components
- strip downRemove covering or components
- unbuildReverse construction process
disarticulate · unravel · disentangle · decompose · reverse-engineer · dissect · break down · pull apart · unpick · undo
challenge
Test of ability
- interrogateQuestion formally and persistently
- destabilizeMake unsteady or insecure
- subvertSecretly weaken authority
question · undermine · problematize · expose · reveal · unmask · denaturalize · delegitimize · complicate · trouble
plating
Surface metal application
- reimaginingFresh interpretation of existing material
- molecular gastronomyScientific study of cooking
- componentsConstituent parts
elements · presentation · texture · essence · reinterpretation · elevated · refined · artistic · nouvelle · avant-garde
- disassemblydismantling, teardown, detaching, unfastening, taking apart
- thinkingthinking, reasoning, thought, ponder, contemplate
- breaking downsplitting, fragmenting, dividing, breaking up, partitioning
deconstructingconstructing
Actively assembling or building
building · assembling · erecting · putting together · creating
deconstructingsynthesizing
Combining elements into unity
constructing · building · integrating · unifying · systematizing
deconstructingcreating
Making something new
composing · constructing · producing · generating · crafting