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Glite Dictionary
🗣️ To speak formally 📝 To write a thesis
to dissertate

to dissertate

9.9
To speak or write at length about a subject in a formal way
  • verb
  • /ˈdɪsərˌteɪt/
  • Formal
translation icon : disertar
  • The professor dissertated on the philosophical implications of artificial intelligence for over an hour.

Examples

  • During the seminar, she dissertated extensively about modernist literature.

  • He tends to dissertate when asked about his research, providing far more detail than necessary.

  • He will dissertate on climate change at the conference.

  • The professor dissertates about various philosophical theories.

  • During the seminar, she dissertated extensively about modernist literature.

  • The professor dissertated on the philosophical implications of artificial intelligence for over an hour.

  • He tends to dissertate when asked about his research, providing far more detail than necessary.

Synonyms

to hold forth
vsto dissertate
5 7.4

Talk for a long time about a subject, like giving a lecture

tends to be more formal and academic rather than authoritative rhetoric
to dilate
vsto dissertate
  • Formal
2 7.5

To talk or write for a long time about a subject

focuses more on academic, formal exposition than mere elaboration
to discourse
vsto dissertate
  • Formal
1 7.8

To speak or write for a long time about a topic

is used especially in academic contexts rather than general formal speech
to descant
vsto dissertate
  • Formal
9.4

To talk for a long time about a subject in detail

is less about ornament and more about formal, academic treatment

How Lengthy

to dissertate
  • Formal
9.9
to expound
  • Formal
20 7.3
to discuss
∞ 1.6
to explain
∞ 1.0
to say
∞ 1.0
to mention
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

dissertate infinitive
dissertated past
dissertated past participle
dissertating present participle
dissertates third person singular

Morphology

dissertate = dissertation (semi-transparent) = dissert + ate

The verb is recognizably related to 'dissertation' and the suffix '-ate', but the general sense 'speak or write at length' is broader and somewhat archaic, so the meaning is not fully predictable for an average learner.

Etymology

Dissertate comes from the same root as dissertation and is like a very formal discuss; it originally meant 'to put ideas together and explain them'. So, to dissertate today is to speak or write at length and in a serious, detailed way about a topic.