treatise

noun

trea·​tise ˈtrē-təs 

 also  -təz

1

: a systematic exposition or argument in writing including a methodical discussion of the facts and principles involved and conclusions reached

a treatise on higher education

2

obsolete : account, tale

Examples of treatise in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Like Top Gun: Maverick, another recent Kosinski/Kruger collaboration, F1 is a treatise about its star in the form of a drama about going really fast. —Alison Willmore, Vulture, 26 June 2025

Adapting Ed McBain’s detective novel King’s Ransom, Kurosawa moves effortlessly from compelling race-against-time thriller to exacting social commentary, creating a diabolical treatise on contemporary Japanese society. —Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 9 June 2025

There have been treatises written and countless podcasts recorded about the apparent pleasure of piling on. —Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 4 May 2025

Vitruvius’s Ten Books on Architecture was not only a manual of the building arts but a treatise on how to extend and consolidate the Roman Empire, and lent itself all too well to the autocratic ambitions of Renaissance princes. —Ingrid D. Rowland, The New York Review of Books, 24 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English tretis, from Anglo-French tretiz, alteration of tretez, traitet, from Medieval Latin tractatus, from Latin tractare to treat, handle

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for treatise

• fetus
• foetus
• meatus
• thetis
• caritas
• civitas
• cellulitis
• margaritas
• tonsillitis

Kids Definition

treatise

noun

trea·​tise ˈtrēt-əs 

: a book or article examining a subject carefully and completely