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• converse
  converse

  verb (used without object)

  to talk informally with another or others; exchange views, opinions, etc., by talking.
• Converse
  Converse

  noun

  Frederick Shepherd 1871–1940, U.S. composer.

converse

¹ American  

[kuhn-vurs, kon-vurs] / kənˈvɜrs, ˈkɒn vɜrs /

verb (used without object)

• converses,
  present (3rd person singular)
• conversed,
  past participle,  past
• conversing
  present participle

1. to talk informally with another or others; exchange views, opinions, etc., by talking.

   Synonyms:

   jaw, gab, talk, confer, chat

2. Archaic. to maintain a familiar association (usually followed bywith ).

3. Obsolete. to have sexual intercourse (usually followed bywith ).

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noun

1. familiar discourse or talk; conversation.

converse ² American  

[kuhn-vurs, kon-vurs, kon-vurs] / kənˈvɜrs, ˈkɒn vɜrs, ˈkɒn vɜrs /

adjective

1. opposite or contrary in direction, action, sequence, etc.; turned around.

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noun

1. something opposite or contrary.

2. Logic.

   1. a proposition obtained from another proposition by conversion.

   2. the relation between two terms, one of which is related to the other in a given manner, as “younger than” to “older than.”

3. 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.”

Converse ³ American  

[kon-vurs] / ˈkɒn vɜrs /

noun

1. Frederick Shepherd 1871–1940, U.S. composer.

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converse ¹ British  

verb

1. to engage in conversation (with)

2. to commune spiritually (with)

3. obsolete

   1. to associate; consort

   2. to have sexual intercourse

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noun

1. conversation (often in the phrase hold converse with )

2. obsolete

   1. fellowship or acquaintance

   2. sexual intercourse

converse ² British  

/ ˈkɒnvɜːs /

adjective

1. (prenominal) reversed; opposite; contrary

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noun

1. something that is opposite or contrary

2. logic

   1. 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

   2. 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

3. 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

Synonym Usage

See speak.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• converser
  noun
• conversely
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• conversing
  present
• conversed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• converse
  simple
• converses
  simple
• have conversed
  perfect
• has conversed
  perfect
• am conversing
  progressive
• are conversing
  progressive
• is conversing
  progressive
• have been conversing
  perfect progressive
• has been conversing
  perfect progressive

Past

• conversed
  simple
• had conversed
  perfect
• was conversing
  progressive
• were conversing
  progressive
• had been conversing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will converse
  simple
• will have conversed
  perfect
• will be conversing
  progressive
• will have been conversing
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of converse¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English conversen, from Middle French converser, from Latin conversārī “to associate with”; see con-, verse

Origin of converse²

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

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Explanation

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!

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

converse Converse converses conversed conversing

The purpose is for nations to debate and for adversaries to converse.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026

"They don't have those natural moments where they can just make sense of something that's happened to them, converse with each other, put it down and move onto the next job," she said.

From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026

Hyodol can converse using ChatGPT, but is also programmed with scripts based on Kim's real-life interviews.

From Barron's ● Jun. 11, 2026

People converse with AI chatbots to help write, get recommendations and analyze data.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 6, 2026

Or, more accurately, Roosevelt tried to converse in French.

From "Death on the River of Doubt" by Samantha Seiple

In an apology, first issued on Friday, Converse said the photo had been removed from its social media channels and it was working to remove it elsewhere.

From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026

You may have seen Elsesser’s face staring back in brand campaigns for everyone from Calvin Klein to Tommy Hilfiger or bought his signature line of Converse skate shoes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2026

It has made progress in some areas—including its running, wholesale and North American businesses—but has hit hurdles in China, as well as with its Converse brand and sportswear offerings.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026

Investors instead zeroed in on declining profit, softer sales in Greater China, and a 30% slump in revenue for the Converse footwear brand.

From Barron's ● Jan. 12, 2026

“No,” I mumbled, scuffing the floor with the toe of my Converse.

From "From Twinkle, with Love" by Sandhya Menon

Sometimes she converses with its voice assistant while driving her car.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2025

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

Eugenie says she converses with others through the food she makes.

From Salon ● Feb. 9, 2024

Rizzs listened to all the games he’s missed on radio or watched on television, and converses knowledgeable about the recent outings of Bryce Miller and Logan Gilbert.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 18, 2023

He occasionally converses about the circus with his fellow pub dwellers.

From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern

We sat just a few feet from him, as he conversed with his legal team in hushed tones and spoke to the judge purely to confirm details like his name and age.

From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026

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

The actor conversed with Evans in anticipation of his upcoming Apple TV+ drama series “Bad Monkey.”

From Salon ● Aug. 7, 2024

Ohtani and Dodgers coaches have conversed more directly in the dugout and the clubhouse, according to multiple coaches.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 26, 2024

It was rumored by many that Bibi conversed with herself in a fluent but totally incomprehensible language, and slept without dreams.

From "Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri

One executive, thinking he was communicating with an employee by teletype when in fact he was conversing with Eliza, finally asked, “why are you being so snotty to me?”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

During the pandemic, some employees would spent their lunch breaks conversing with the chatbots for fun, Zinger said.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026

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

“Sentimental Value’s” final shot, which similarly shows Nora and Gustav conversing, neatly tied together the movie’s themes of family, fiction and forgiveness.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 17, 2026

At half past, he heard Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia conversing in terse mutters in the living room.

From "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" by J. K. Rowling

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