Thesaurus results for DIS-COURSE

discourse 1 of 2

noun

ˈdi-ˌskȯrs

Definition of discourse

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

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discourse

2 of 2

verb

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

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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

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of discourse

Noun

One post may seem fleeting, but millions of them, examined together, can tell us something larger about how public discourse is changing. — Thu T. Nguyen, Baltimore Sun, 27 Aug. 2026 There has been an enormous amount of discourse about the cost and compute crunch around frontier cloud models from companies like Anthropic or OpenAI lately. — Samuel Axon, ArsTechnica, 26 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 See All Example Sentences for discourse

Recent Examples of Synonyms for discourse

Noun

In our efforts to reciprocate with some updates about our family, the wife would interject within a sentence or two of our contribution to hijack the conversation back to talking about her family.

— R. Eric Thomas, Washington Post, 31 Aug. 2026
Her conversation with John also divulges the depths of his entwinement with current ring-bearer Hal Jordan, via a flashback to when John was a baby, in the all-important year of 1986.

— Siddhant Adlakha, Vulture, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of conversation

Verb

Luann patiently attempts to explain that the women don’t like being lectured to about their business affairs, only for Vicki to abruptly answer a phone call mid-conversation.

— Shamira Ibrahim, Vulture, 24 Aug. 2026
Robert Pozen, who lectures at MIT Sloan School of Management and was formerly president of Fidelity Investments, has an answer to the obvious question about who inspects this.

— Dara-Abasi Ita, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2026

Definition of lecture

Verb

Officers spoke with Cisneros for about four minutes, repeatedly ordering her to drop the knives, according to Tisch.

— Madison E. Goldberg, PEOPLE, 1 Sep. 2026
Bawahab, as well as community leaders and former employees, addressed the crowd with Bawahab speaking about Insight’s potential role in reopening West Suburban.

— Lisa Schencker, Chicago Tribune, 1 Sep. 2026

Definition of speak

Verb

Fleming by body camera footage, approached Parker, who was talking on his cellphone.

— Daniel McFadin, Arkansas Online, 27 Aug. 2026
Maybe a family watches a favorite performer together, while nearby strangers start talking because someone forgot sunscreen and their friend packed enough for six people.

— Svetlana Khachiyan, USA Today, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of talk

Verb

During testimony this week, Warsh sought to emphasize his independence from the White House, which was called into question after months of Trump haranguing Powell over interest rates.

— Justin Papp, CNBC, 16 July 2026
Benatia got a three-month suspension for haranguing a fourth official.

— Tom Williams, New York Times, 17 May 2026

Definition of harangue

Noun

In her Arizona projects, Lerner says the front is becoming an extension of how people enjoy their morning coffee, move through the day, converse with neighbors in the evening, and relax before going indoors.

— Terri Williams, Forbes.com, 29 July 2026
So, Toney and Ulbrich converse and decide what’s best for the defense, and more specifically within Toney’s passing-centric jurisdiction, what’s best for the secondary and back seven in coverage.

— Daniel Flick, AJC.com, 9 July 2026

Definition of converse

Verb

And the conversations between Anna and Molly, Ella and Julia (Ella’s friend and a counterpart of Molly), as well as the stammering and declaiming when Anna talks to herself, are almost always about men.

— Cynthia Zarin, Harpers Magazine, 4 Aug. 2026
Woody Harrelson declaims every line, upping the relentless factor of Phil’s mania.

— Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 18 May 2026

Definition of declaim

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discouraging

discourse

discoursed

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Style

“Discourse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/discourse. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of discourse

noun

verb

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