Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To discourse formally.
  • intransitive verb To prepare a dissertation.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To discourse in the style of a dissertation; write dissertations.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • intransitive verb rare To deal in dissertation; to write dissertations; to discourse.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb To write dissertations; to discourse.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb talk at length and formally about a topic

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Latin dissertāre, dissertāt-, frequentative of disserere, to discuss : dis-, dis- + serere, to connect; see ser- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Latin dissertatus, past participle of dissertare to discuss, intents, from disserere. See dissert.

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Examples

  • It defines too much of me to stop. are two things I need to stick on my corkboard right over my computer while I dissertate. mlronald

    Getting through the bad patches « 2009

  •  The lady sat cross legged and relaxed on a tall stool like she was about to dissertate.

    Scarf 2010

  • The AAUW fellowship helped Margaret complete her dissertation, which she jokingly notes she might still be writing, had it not been for the chance to dissertate without being tied to a full-time teaching position.

    Meet Margaret Jackson: Opera Singer and Ethnomusicologist « AAUW Dialog 2009

  • The AAUW fellowship helped Margaret complete her dissertation, which she jokingly notes she might still be writing, had it not been for the chance to dissertate without ...

    October « 2009 « AAUW Dialog 2009

  • But I'm not writing to scold you about your behavior or dissertate on how stars have it all.

    Rachel Shteir: June in Paris 2008

  • It is impossible to dissertate and to teach without it!

    Not already. StyleyGeek 2007

  • ***--I don't think that I managed to de-dissertate my style entirely, and to my eye there's a difference between the chapters left somewhat as-is and the massively revised chapters, but at least I managed to eliminate "gynohistoriographical" from the introduction.

    Prosaic 2005

  • ***--I don't think that I managed to de-dissertate my style entirely, and to my eye there's a difference between the chapters left somewhat as-is and the massively revised chapters, but at least I managed to eliminate "gynohistoriographical" from the introduction.

    The Little Professor: 2005

  • But before I begin to examine the chances of the Atlantic Pact doing the job the Empire and the British Navy did for so long in "promoting stability and well being in the North Atlantic area" to quote the preamble to the Treaty which is to be - signed next week, I would like with your permission to dissertate just a little on this matter of cross-roads.

    Cross-Roads 1949

  • Mr. Brown, who had always met my advances with a grim taciturnity that made conversation exceedingly difficult, proceeded to dissertate upon one or two of the vexed questions of the day.

    An Amiable Charlatan 1906

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