discussant
One who converses
A discussant is someone who participates in a formal discussion, particularly an academic or professional one.
The term often refers specifically to a person assigned to respond to a paper or presentation at a conference: The discussant raised several objections to the methodology.
Unlike panelist or participant, discussant implies an active critical role rather than mere attendance.
Discussion group member
- symposiumFormal expert discussion meeting
- conferenceOrganized meeting for discussion
- seminarGroup discussion for learning
- roundtableLeaderless group discussion
colloquium · workshop · moderator · facilitator · speaker · presenter · session · plenary
Exchange of spoken ideas
- interlocutorOne who converses
- exchangeMutual giving and receiving
- colloquyFormal conversation or conference
- discourseFormal communication on subjects
communication · interaction · rapport · deliberation · consultation · parley · converse · respond
One who argues positions
- argumentReasoned case or dispute
- rebuttalFormal response disputing claims
- counterargumentPoint challenging another's position
- refutationDisproving a statement
contention · rhetoric · persuasion · disputation · polemic · dialectic · contrarian · position
panelist
Discussion group member
- symposiumFormal expert discussion meeting
- conferenceOrganized meeting for discussion
- seminarGroup discussion for learning
roundtable · colloquium · workshop · moderator · facilitator · speaker · presenter · session · plenary · audience
conversation
Exchange of spoken ideas
- interlocutorOne who converses
- exchangeMutual giving and receiving
- colloquyFormal conversation or conference
discourse · communication · interaction · rapport · deliberation · consultation · parley · converse · respond · engage
debater
One who argues positions
- argumentReasoned case or dispute
- rebuttalFormal response disputing claims
- counterargumentPoint challenging another's position
refutation · contention · rhetoric · persuasion · disputation · polemic · dialectic · contrarian · position · stance
- Panel Discussionmoderator, panelist, debate, roundtable, forum
- participantsparticipant, entrant, respondent, applicant, enrollee
- conference speakerskeynote speaker, guest speaker, panelist, moderator, presenter
- forum rolesadmin, administrator, moderator, mod, member