conversant
Americanadjective
-
familiar by use or study (usually followed bywith ).
conversant with Spanish history.
- Synonyms:
- proficient, well-informed, practiced, skilled, learned, versed
-
Archaic. having regular or frequent conversation; intimately associating; acquainted.
adjective
Other Word Forms
- conversance noun
- conversancy noun
- conversantly adverb
- nonconversance noun
- nonconversancy noun
- nonconversant adjective
- nonconversantly adverb
- unconversant adjective
Etymology
Origin of conversant
1250–1300; Middle English conversa ( u ) nt < Latin conversant- (stem of conversāns ), present participle of conversārī to associate with. See converse 1, -ant
Explanation
If you know a lot about computer programming, then you could describe yourself as conversant with the latest updates in coding languages. This means you have current working knowledge of the topic. The word conversant can be traced back to the Latin word conversari, meaning to “keep company with.” If you’re conversant with something, then you’re familiar with it — as if you have been keeping company with it. The word is often paired with the prepositions with, as in "being conversant with the Detroit area, or in, as in "if you speak French, you’re conversant in French."
Vocabulary lists containing conversant
Walden
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The Federalist Papers, No. 70 by Alexander Hamilton
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The Shining
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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.
Stablecoins aren’t yet widely used as savings or checking accounts, and mostly remain a way for the crypto conversant to buy other digital tokens or transfer money.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 5, 2026
Rooney’s young adults, hyperarticulate and conversant in seemingly everything, are yet tripped up by the mysteries of the human heart.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2025
Brands, engages in a discreet laundering of Lindbergh’s views and expertise, such that a reader who is not conversant with historical details might be inclined to accept his version at face value.
From Salon • Sep. 21, 2024
And as the first of the new breed, totally conversant with the social media age, he knows managerial techniques of the past on their own will not work any more.
From BBC • Apr. 22, 2024
He had traveled in Egypt and was conversant with the knowledge of Babylon.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
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.
