discourse

Word family

dis·course1 /ˈdɪskɔːs $ -ɔːrs/ noun formal

1 [countableC]SPEAK A LANGUAGEWRITE a serious speech or piece of writing on a particular subject 〔关于某个主题的〕演讲，论述，著述

discourse on/upon

a discourse on art

有关艺术的演讲

2 [uncountableU]DISCUSS serious conversation or discussion between people 〔严肃的〕谈话，交谈

Candidates should engage in serious political discourse.

候选人应该参加严肃的政治对话。

3 [uncountableU]SPEAK A LANGUAGEWRITE the language used in particular types of speech or writing 〔在特定类型的讲话或论著中使用的〕话语，语篇

a study of spoken discourse

口语语篇研究

Examples from the Corpus

discourse• In many cases, the conventions of academic discourse force researchers to make these assumptions even more explicit and specific.• the restraints of diplomatic discourse• Without tampering with the deviant sentence itself, we can investigate the effects of placing it in variously elaborated discourse contexts.• However exciting his paper, his thesis seemed in danger of crumbling if it were reworked into a conventional historical discourse.• Legal discourse and scientific discourse often sacrifice the maxim of quantity to the maxim of quality.• Chapter 2 attempts to demonstrate the specific appeal of formal labourism by examining the construction of political discourses around the working class.• Rational discourse on public policy is vital to a democracy.• The prototype of non-reciprocal discourse is a book by a dead author.• Simply combining methods associated with femininity and masculinity, does not challenge the discourses of gender which support these associations.

discourse on/upon• Should I launch into a discourse on why I didn't value male above female children?• Blackwell's radical ideas point to the tentative beginnings of a discourse on active female sexuality.• The book opens with a discourse on the environment.• Sherman had heard Gene Lopwitz discourse on that subject.• He shot 3-for-9 and then resumed his ongoing discourse on the march to the playoffs.• Explicit presidential discourse on policy issues was exceedingly rare.• Morry Taylor, a businessman, gave rambling discourses on the need to employ business tactics in government; and Rep.• The quest for greater knowledge was underpinned by a highly gender-specific discourse on sexuality.• What is more depressing is the way this escape from the facts is beginning to creep into Western discourse on Kosovo.

dis·course2 /dɪsˈkɔːs $ -ɔːrs/ verb

1.discourse on/upon something phrasal verbphr v formal SPEAK A LANGUAGEto make a long formal speech about something, or to discuss something seriously 讲述，论说

Examples from the Corpus

discourse on/upon • Sherman had heard Gene Lopwitz discourse on that subject.

Examples from the Corpus

discourse• He went on to discourse at length on the nature of fat.• Iris was discoursing with animation, her hands describing sweeping patterns in the air, her whole attention focused on her subject.

Origin discourse1