dissertation
Americannoun
-
a written essay, treatise, or thesis, especially one written by a candidate for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
-
any formal discourse in speech or writing.
noun
-
a written thesis, often based on original research, usually required for a higher degree
-
a formal discourse
Other Word Forms
- dissertational adjective
- dissertationist noun
Etymology
Origin of dissertation
First recorded in 1605–15; from Latin dissertātiōn-, stem of dissertātiō, equivalent to dissert + -ation
Explanation
A dissertation is a long piece of writing that uses research to bring to light an original idea. Don't go to grad school unless you're prepared to write, say, a 300-page dissertation on some topic. In everyday speech, we sometimes accuse people of delivering dissertations when they overload us with dull information. If you're annoyed with a long memo from your office manager about keeping the kitchen clean, you could mutter to a coworker, “How’d you like that dissertation Felix posted about rinsing out our mugs?”
Vocabulary lists containing dissertation
100 SAT Words Beginning with "D"
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The Kite Runner
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The Field Guide to the North American Teenager
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The deaths of her grandparents in quick succession left her so distraught — they had raised her — that she never finished her dissertation.
From Salon • Mar. 17, 2026
She was hired by Bank of America while still working on her dissertation.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 12, 2026
She wrote her dissertation about serial killers decades ago, and as an author gravitates to storytelling about marginalized women.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 3, 2026
Meanwhile Caroline Cronjaeger, a 25-year-old student, is writing her dissertation on Virginia Woolf's Mrs Dalloway - a book she found on YouTube.
From BBC • Feb. 8, 2026
When I traveled to London to write a dissertation on English Renaissance literature, I was finally confident of membership in a ‘community of scholars.’
From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
