to dominate the discussion
1
4.8
- phrasal verb
:
dominar la discusión
- Many students may indeed, as Tannen found, monitor their participation, but rarely did these English majors do so in order to avoid dominating the discussion.
- issue that has dominated the discussion
- dominate the national discussion
- dominated the discussion about education
Examples
-
During the early part of the 20th century, "logical positivism" has dominated discussions of scientific epistemology.
Academic text (2012) -
No one should dominate the discussion or enforce his or her opinion on anyone else.
Academic text (1997) -
We concluded that males, at least in this class setting, tend to dominate class discussion.
Academic text (2012) -
But in the United States, the Arab-Israeli conflict is far better known than any other issue and thus dominates the discussion.
Academic text (2015) -
Most blacks are not poor in this country, but the problems of the black underclass continue to dominate the discussion, and rightly so.
-
Their arguments would not be able to "engage," let alone challenge the sweeping political, economic, and geostrategic arguments that dominated the discussion.
Academic text (1998) -
Although questions about classroom management and lesson planning dominated the discussion, specific topics relating to literacy instruction also arose.
Academic text (2012) -
The military aspects of the campaign to oust Iraq from Kuwait have dominated the discussion of the Gulf War.
Academic text (1995) -
Some of the examples involve elaborate stories or bizarre practical jokes, but what dominates the discussion are ways in which one courtier can respond wittily to what another has said - with the aim of undermining or taking advantage of words already in play in a courtly conversation.
Academic text (1994) -
In the meeting, one person seemed to dominate the discussion, making it hard for others to share their ideas.
Synonyms
9
6.6
To have power over people or situations
8
6.7
To be more common or important than others
1
6.4
To talk so much that you stop others from speaking
To take control of a discussion and ignore other people's ideas
Antonyms
How Influential
- Informal
1
4.8
- Informal
135
3.1
883
2.7
∞
1.0
231
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
dominate + the + discussion
The meaning is directly compositional: 'dominate' (to exert control or influence) applied to 'discussion' (a conversation) yields 'to exert control over a conversation'. The definite article 'the' is semantically neutral here and does not affect predictability. This construction and logic are common cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows the parts should understand the expression.
Etymology
Dominate the discussion comes from the simple image of someone taking the floor and filling the room with their words. To dominate means to control and discussion is the conversation, so when one person speaks most and leaves little room for others, they 'take control of the conversation'.