discourse Hear it!

discourse Definition

dis·course (dis′kôrs′; also, & for v. usually, dis kôrs′)

noun

  1. communication of ideas, information, etc., esp. by talking; conversation
  2. a long and formal treatment of a subject, in speech or writing; lecture; treatise; dissertation
  3. Archaic ability to reason; rationality

Etymology: ME & OFr discours < L discursus, discourse < pp. of discurrere, to run to and fro < dis-, from, apart + currere, to run: see current

intransitive verb -·coursed′, -·cours′·ing

  1. to carry on conversation; talk; confer
  2. to speak or write (on or upon a subject) formally and at some length

transitive verb

Archaic to utter or tell

discourse Related Forms

dis·cours′er noun

discourse Synonyms

discourse

n.

dialogue, talk, lecture, dissertation; see conversation, discussion 1, exposition 2, speech 2, 3.

discourse Synonyms

discourse

v.

treat, converse, lecture; see address 2, discuss, talk 1. See syn. study at speak.

discourse Usage Examples

Preposition: of

globalization: Discourses of globalization have been engaged with throughout our subject areas.

Converse of object

  • dominate: Here is an extraordinarily gifted writer working his way inside a language that has dominated public discourse in the Republic for three decades.
  • speak: The findings suggest that email strives to mirror spoken discourse in many ways.
  • analyze: Overall it is more of an interesting tool to teach analyzing discourse than an analysis of language in comics.
  • articulate: Community members articulate hybridity discourses as an alternative to those that assert an assimilative whiteness.
  • emerge: It also needs to be analyzed in the context of New Labor's emerging Third Way discourse.
  • examine: Rather, we need to examine primarily the extended discourse that occurs in natural settings and open-ended interviews.

Adjective modifier

  • dominant: The article begins with a thematic overview of some of the dominant discourses of play.
  • hegemonic: In sociological terms they represent a socially constructed body of falsehood and legitimation ideology, and a hegemonic discourse.
  • colonial: This word keeps cropping up in colonial discourse, all over the world -- they are rational!
  • philosophical: The prosody was significant and owed much to Scottish philosophical discourse.
  • scholarly: Most but not all the reviews they publish may well be read as irrelevant for serious scholarly discourse and for professional affairs.
  • rational: I would hope we can then return to more rational discourse on the subject.

Modifies a noun

  • connective: This paper presents two experiments on the semantic similarity of discourse connectives.
  • marker: For example, a discourse marker may signal importance.
  • analysis: Critical discourse analysis: The critical study of language.
  • coherence: Discourse connectives enable discourse coherence relations to be studies empirically.
  • analyst: If anyone ought to be able to characterize and explain such ' warnings of danger ' , discourse analysts should.

Noun used with modifier

  • postmodern: Subjectivity is fractured and connects with others, but Haraway does not lose the agency - as often happens in postmodern discourse.
  • classroom: Key words: protocol analysis, geography in history, GENIP, classroom discourse, learning geography.