dissertation

American  

[dis-er-tay-shuhn] / ˌdɪs ərˈteɪ ʃən /

noun

• dissertations
  plural

1. a written essay, treatise, or thesis, especially one written by a candidate for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

2. any formal discourse in speech or writing.

---

dissertation British  

/ ˌdɪsəˈteɪʃən /

noun

1. a written thesis, often based on original research, usually required for a higher degree

2. a formal discourse

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• dissertationist
  noun
• dissertational
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• dissertations
  plural

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?”

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dissertation dissertations

In the years since, Duke and his colleagues have expanded on the initial scope of his dissertation to compile more evidence from a larger collection of samples.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 6, 2026

From footnote 21 in “ ‘Lord I Am 1’: The Solitary ‘I’ and the Social Lyric,” a 2025 doctoral dissertation in English by Jenna Hart at the University of Illinois Chicago:

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026

She suggested that Schroeder examine some of the undescribed specimens as part of her dissertation, according to the news release.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026

But the originality of Arday’s dissertation and his other academic work was also coming under scrutiny, leading to multiple allegations of plagiarism.

From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2026

And: Was my dissertation much more than an act of social withdrawal?

From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez

Since its introduction, fifteen dissertations and final theses at Freie Universität have focused on the topic, along with seven additional dissertations completed by researchers in other countries.

From Science Daily ● Jan. 7, 2026

After studying neuroscience and writing two dissertations, she was off to Stanford for a law degree and math Ph.D.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 4, 2025

But then there’s the next layer — Cami as a curator, not just of aesthetics but of ideas, thought pieces and dissertations on everything you can think of.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 15, 2025

In fact, we first sketched out our plan to link cultural values and microbiology while writing our Ph.D. dissertations at our local deli in St. Louis, Missouri.

From Salon ● Apr. 17, 2024

There were long dissertations written in long hand; some were political and others dealt with the history of art.

From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright

Related Words

• essay
• monograph
• treatise