colloquy
Americannoun
-
a conversational exchange; dialogue.
-
a conference.
noun
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a formal conversation or conference
-
a literary work in dialogue form
-
an informal conference on religious or theological matters
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of colloquy
1555–65; < Latin colloquium colloquium
Explanation
A colloquy is a formal talk, the opposite of a chat, such as the colloquy you have with your boss about a serious matter — far different from how you'll talk to your friends about it afterward. To correctly pronounce colloquy, accent the first syllable: "KOLL uh kwee." The word comes from the Latin prefix com-, meaning "together," and loquium, meaning "speaking." That adds up to "speaking together." You probably recognize loqui, meaning "to speak," in words like locution and colloquial, which also involve speaking.
Vocabulary lists containing colloquy
"The Odyssey" by Homer, Books 8–13
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"Simon's Saga," Vocabulary from Episode 6
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Walden
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
In his opinion, Judge Murphy cited an extraordinary colloquy from a hearing.
From Slate ● Feb. 28, 2026
The opening exchange is treated as cross-examination masquerading as comradely colloquy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2023
He attached a printout of his colloquy with the bot, which shows it tossing out words like “sure” and “certainly!”
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 9, 2023
“When something was wrong, there was a real colloquy between the court and Congress. The court would say, ‘Hey, this doesn’t stand up to scrutiny.’
From New York Times ● Jul. 2, 2022
Plainly skeptical but unwilling to engage in a colloquy with a wheedling Teller, Fermi pleaded that he was too tired from the flight to give him a hearing, much less a commitment.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
You hear it deployed in corporate colloquies, political speeches and school prospectuses as if it were a magic wand.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 21, 2021
The normal free-for-all of questions piled atop questions was replaced with rigidly structured colloquies in a preordained order.
From Slate ● May 4, 2020
Despite a sense of the historical importance – and members’ efforts to dramatize the hearing with outbursts and impassioned colloquies – the mood was subdued.
From The Guardian ● Dec. 12, 2019
The pacing of this domestic reckoning, divided into a series of heated colloquies between Nora and the loved ones she left behind, is breathless.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2019
For a time he silently went through minute recapitulations of his recent colloquies with Miss Garnet, who seemed already surprisingly far away; much farther than any railroad speed could at all account for.
From John March, Southerner by Cable, George W.
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.
