What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

Confer vs Discourse - What's the difference?

confer | discourse | Synonyms |

Confer is a synonym of discourse.


In lang=en terms the difference between confer and discourse

is that confer is to grant as a possession; to bestow while discourse is to write or speak formally and at length.

In obsolete|transitive|lang=en terms the difference between confer and discourse

is that confer is (obsolete|transitive) to bring together; to collect, gather while discourse is (obsolete|transitive) to debate.

As verbs the difference between confer and discourse

is that confer is (obsolete|intransitive) to compare while discourse is to engage in discussion or conversation; to converse.

As a noun discourse is

(uncountable|archaic) verbal exchange, conversation.

confer

English

Verb

(conferr)
  • (obsolete) To compare.
  • * 1557 (book title):
  • The Newe Testament ... Conferred diligently with the Greke, and best approued translations.
  • *, II.3.1.i:
  • Confer thine estate with others […]. Be content and rest satisfied, for thou art well in respect to others […].
  • * Boyle
  • If we confer these observations with others of the like nature, we may find cause to rectify the general opinion.
  • To talk together, to consult, discuss; to deliberate.
  • * 1974 , "A Traveler's Perils", Time , 25 Mar 1974:
  • Local buttons popped when Henry Kissinger visited Little Rock last month to confer with Fulbright on the Middle East oil talks.
  • (obsolete) To bring together; to collect, gather.
  • To grant as a possession; to bestow.
  • * Milton
  • the public marks of honour and reward conferred upon me
  • * 2010 , Andrew Rawnsley, The Observer , 7 Feb 2010:
  • The special immunities that are conferred on MPs were framed with the essential purpose of allowing them to speak freely in parliament.
  • (obsolete) To contribute; to conduce.
  • * Glanvill
  • The closeness and compactness of the parts resting together doth much confer to the strength of the union.

    See also

    * cf ----

    discourse

    Noun

  • (uncountable, archaic) Verbal exchange, conversation.
  • * 1847 , , (Jane Eyre), Chapter XVIII
  • Two or three of the gentlemen sat near him, and I caught at times scraps of their conversation across the room. At first I could not make much sense of what I heard; for the discourse of Louisa Eshton and Mary Ingram, who sat nearer to me, confused the fragmentary sentences that reached me at intervals.
  • (uncountable) Expression in words, either speech or writing.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2012-03
  • , author= , title=Pixels or Perish , volume=100, issue=2, page=106 , magazine= citation , passage=Drawings and pictures are more than mere ornaments in scientific discourse . Blackboard sketches, geological maps, diagrams of molecular structure, astronomical photographs, MRI images, the many varieties of statistical charts and graphs: These pictorial devices are indispensable tools for presenting evidence, for explaining a theory, for telling a story.}}
  • (countable) A formal lengthy exposition of some subject, either spoken or written.
  • The preacher gave us a long discourse on duty.
  • (countable) Any rational expression, reason.
  • * South
  • difficult, strange, and harsh to the discourses of natural reason
  • * Shakespeare
  • Sure he that made us with such large discourse , / Looking before and after, gave us not / That capability and godlike reason / To rust in us unused.
  • (social sciences, countable) An institutionalized way of thinking, a social boundary defining what can be said about a specific topic (after ).
  • * 2007 , Christine L. Marran, Poison Woman: Figuring Female Transgression in Modern Japanese Culture (page 137)
  • Furthermore, it should be recalled from the previous chapter that criminological discourse of the 1930s deemed every woman a potential criminal, implicitly including the domestic woman.
  • * 2008 , Jane Anna Gordon, Lewis Gordon, A Companion to African-American Studies (page 308)
  • But equally important to the emergence of uniquely African-American queer discourses is the refusal of African-American movements for liberation to address adequately issues of sexual orientation and gender identity.
  • (obsolete) Dealing; transaction.
  • * Beaumont and Fletcher
  • Good Captain Bessus, tell us the discourse / Betwixt Tigranes and our king, and how / We got the victory.

    Synonyms

    * (expression in words) communication, expression * (verbal exchange) debate, conversation, discussion, talk * (formal lengthy exposition of some subject) dissertation, lecture, sermon, study, treatise * (rational expression) ratiocination

    Derived terms

    * direct discourse * indirect discourse

    Verb

    (discours)
  • To engage in discussion or conversation; to converse.
  • To write or speak formally and at length.
  • (obsolete) To debate.
  • To exercise reason; to employ the mind in judging and inferring; to reason.
  • (Dryden)

    Synonyms

    * (engage in discussion or conversation) converse, talk * (write or speak formally and at length)

    Derived terms

    * discourser

    See also

    * essay