to discourse
1
7.8
- verb
- /dɪsˈkɔrs/
- Formal
- It's a shame you can't discourse like a rational person.
Examples
-
And yet he's able to discourse like Socrates or Diogenes or whoever.
-
Indeed, the ways in which they are actively reinventing journalism even as we discourse about it.
Blog text (21) -
It is no time to discourse, so Christ save me.
-
You can "discourse" your head off and it won't change reality.
Academic text (1997) -
An essayist, it has been said, is that lucky person who has found a way to discourse without being interrupted.
Academic text (2009) -
Yet the next minute, he began to discourse about the Third Reich and about psychics.
Fiction book (1995) -
How can we discourse without unconsciously continuing a dissociative epistemology?
Academic text (1992) -
The son-in-law, eager to discourse, said Freud called Schopenhauer one of the six greatest men who ever lived.
Fiction book (1992) -
Furthermore, his reclining posture can be seen as a reminder that Socrates continued to write and discourse with his followers even though he was confined to his prison bed.
Academic text (1995) -
The professor will discourse extensively on the implications of climate change during his lecture.
Synonyms
∞
1.3
Speak with someone about a subject
∞
1.6
To talk with other people about something, often in detail
∞
3.4
Give a speech to an audience about a subject
∞
3.6
To deal with a subject in speech or writing
620
2.1
Give details in words about a topic, for example in a book or article
35
2.8
Give a formal talk to people at a public or special event
29
4.2
To state something clearly in writing or speech
20
7.3
Explain something in detail so people understand it
5
7.4
Talk for a long time about a subject, like giving a lecture
2
7.5
To talk or write for a long time about a subject
1
9.9
To talk or write for a long time about a subject
1
6.1
To talk or write for a long time using many words when it is not needed
To speak or write at length about a subject in a formal way
To talk for a long time about a subject in detail
To explain an idea or meaning in detail
To end a formal speech with a long, strong summary
Compounds
- Specialized
Repeating the exact words someone said or thought, usually in quote marks
A way of reporting what someone said without using their exact words, often changing pronouns and verb tenses
How Detailed
- Formal
20
7.3
- Formal
1
7.8
∞
1.6
∞
1.0
∞
1.0
∞
1.6
∞
1.0
Surface Forms
Etymology
The verb discourse comes from dis- 'apart' and course 'run' or 'path', so it originally meant to 'run through' ideas. That's why to discourse is to speak or write at length about a topic, often in a formal way.