Synonyms of discourse

discourse 1 of 2

noun

ˈdi-ˌskȯrs 

as in conversation

talking or a talk between two or more people

Thomas Jefferson is said to have been able to participate in knowledgeable discourse on a breathtaking array of subjects

Synonyms & Similar Words

• conversation
• discussion
• converse
• exchange
• dialogue
• chat
• debate
• colloquy
• banter
• raillery
• persiflage
• prattle
• babble
• symposium
• chaff
• repartee
• cross fire
• small talk
• chatter
• chitchat
• conference
• give-and-take
• roundtable
• prate
• table talk
• parley
• deliberation
• confabulation
• palaver
• gabfest
• natter
• round-robin
• gossip
• rap
• chin-wag

discourse

2 of 2

verb

1

as in to lecture

to give a formal often extended talk on a subject

the guest lecturer discoursed at some length on the long-term results of the war

Synonyms & Similar Words

• lecture
• speak
• talk
• harangue
• expatiate
• declaim
• descant
• hold forth
• orate
• take the floor
• soliloquize
• sermonize
• pontificate
• expound
• mouth
• recite
• dissert
• spout
• filibuster

2

as in to speak

to talk as if giving an important and formal speech

grandly discoursed as though he were an expert on every subject

Synonyms & Similar Words

• speak
• harangue
• mouth (off)
• talk
• declaim
• orate
• rant
• lecture
• perorate
• preach
• rave
• announce
• broadcast
• proclaim
• sermonize
• bloviate
• advertise
• pronounce
• blow
• speechify
• declare

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of discourse

Noun

So when a series of health problems, including a severe case of sepsis, nearly killed him earlier this year, the discourse wasn’t forgiving. — Shirley Halperin, Rolling Stone, 6 Aug. 2026

At moments when public opinion is shifting in favor of legalization, cultural resources that foreground physical suffering and valorize choice and control often dominate public discourse, while also narrowing the frame of debate. — Vanessa Rampton, STAT, 5 Aug. 2026

Verb

The most explicitly political of the year’s major contenders is also the odds-on Best Picture front-runner, which has made OBAA discourse the season’s most inescapable topic. — Nate Jones, Vulture, 31 Jan. 2026

The cycle can become so accidentally ubiquitous that the former kids who blissfully existed outside of whatever discourses these trends or bands started in their heyday wonder now, as adults, what was so bad about them in the first place. — Brittany Spanos, Rolling Stone, 21 July 2025