something opposite or contrary.
Logic.
a proposition obtained from another proposition by conversion.
the relation between two terms, one of which is related to the other in a given manner, as “younger than” to “older than.”
a group of words correlative with a preceding group but having a significant pair of terms interchanged, as “hot in winter but cold in summer” and “cold in winter but hot in summer.”
to engage in conversation (with)
to commune spiritually (with)
obsolete
to associate; consort
to have sexual intercourse
conversation (often in the phrase hold converse with )
obsolete
fellowship or acquaintance
sexual intercourse
something that is opposite or contrary
logic
a categorical proposition obtained from another by the transposition of subject and predicate, as no bad man is bald from no bald man is bad
a proposition so derived, possibly by weakening a universal proposition to the corresponding particular, as some socialists are rich from all rich men are socialists
logic maths a relation that holds between two relata only when a given relation holds between them in reverse order: thus father of is the converse of son of
See speak.
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English conversen, from Middle French converser, from Latin conversārī “to associate with”; see con-, verse
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English convers, from Anglo-French or directly from Latin conversus, past participle of convertere “to turn around,” equivalent to con- “with, together” + vert- “to turn” + -tus past participle suffix; cf. convert 1
Converse is a more formal way of saying "carry on a conversation." You could converse with your best friend for hours over lunch, but continue the chit-chat through the afternoon matinee and you might get shushed. Oddly enough, converse was originally a verb meaning “to move about, live or dwell” when it first came into existence in the mid 14th century. But today we only use converse to talk about, well, talking. Quipped the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, “When marrying, one should ask oneself this question: Do you believe that you will be able to converse well with this woman into your old age?” A good question for marrying men and women!
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A lot of the time, these folks converse like they’re at a Nantucket board of health meeting.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026
Meanwhile, a separate team of coders that made Moltbook, a Reddit-like pseudo social network where OpenClaw agents converse, are joining Meta.
From Barron's ● Mar. 13, 2026
In a converse way, Kay and Down’s reluctance to be so clean, so shiny and so heteronormative with their characters is just as forward-thinking as any media that conjures a conventional picture of equality.
From Salon ● Mar. 1, 2026
"I was like a little old man. I used to speak like a grown-up. I wore three-piece suits and couldn't converse with other children," the 37-year-old says.
From BBC ● Dec. 27, 2025
As the rain patters gently against the windows, they converse politely about insubstantial things.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
Prosecutors played soundless footage of him that night, wearing a maroon shirt, dark hat, jeans and Converse shoes, and he was transported back to Utah County and formally booked on 12 September.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
Authorities also found a Converse Chuck Taylor shoe impression on the edge of the roof of the building from which the gunman fired.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
Nike also said it would be streamlining work at its Air Manufacturing Innovation facilities in Beaverton, Ore., St. Louis and Vietnam, and relocating some manufacturing related to its Converse sneaker brand.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 23, 2026
North America will see modest growth in the quarter, while Trends in Greater China and Converse should be in line with the second quarter.
From Barron's ● Dec. 18, 2025
Instead of Converse or Vans, he had on dark brown hiking boots.
From "Keep It Together, Keiko Carter" by Debbi Michiko Florence
But Domingo, who converses with Kościuszko in English, is also a bit of an anachronism.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 28, 2026
Instead of merely nodding his head, Samuel asks questions and converses with Romy.
From Salon ● Dec. 23, 2024
Convinced that Nancy is a cipher for her own lost youth, Myrtle intermittently hallucinates the dead girl’s ghost, and even converses with it.
From New York Times ● Mar. 26, 2024
She merits her own chapters, all in italics, during which she converses with those hallucinations.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 9, 2022
Their waiter stops at their table and converses briefly with Widget, paying no notice to the man in the grey suit.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
Dong Jun, and Hegseth both attended the Xi-Trump summit in Beijing and conversed at a state banquet.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 30, 2026
Norman said he conversed with Trump twice on Friday.
From BBC ● Jan. 3, 2025
Instead she toured the clinic and conversed with healthcare providers and patients who were interested in speaking with her.
From Salon ● Mar. 14, 2024
As they conversed over the text console, Remi watched from the middle of the theater, closing her left eye again and again.
From Slate ● Jan. 27, 2024
Estraven had conversed amiably at table; now, sitting across the hearth from me, he was quiet.
From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin
Before her departure, Keyser appeared in the first 20 minutes of Thursday's episode, conversing with one of the male contestants before appearing briefly in two further non-speaking scenes.
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026
AI is the first invention humans have made that can simulate the process of thinking and conversing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026
Hutchins was conversing with Baldwin to set up a camera angle that Hutchins wanted to depict: a close-up image of the barrel of Baldwin’s revolver.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 17, 2026
Crowded open offices are not designed for many people to be conversing with their computers at the same time.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 29, 2026
The men went back to conversing among themselves.
From "The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm" by Nancy Farmer
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.
