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
Hyodol can converse using ChatGPT, but is also programmed with scripts based on Kim's real-life interviews.
From Barron's ● Jun. 11, 2026
AI chatbots like ChatGPT learned to converse, make music, generate images, and write code by using all the information they could get from the internet.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 12, 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
Now that the barriers were down, the limitation, in my terms, of our converse and understanding seemed intolerable to me.
From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin
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
There are also yellow tents selling only Golf Wang, and there’s a Converse pop-up with Golf le Fleur, where shoppers are able to sit down and try on the in-demand shoes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 24, 2025
It’s also been heavily discounting and seen revenue at its Converse brand tumble 27% during its most recent fiscal first quarter.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 20, 2025
In black Converse sneakers, green camo pants and a T-shirt honoring the 1980s synth-pop group New Order, Eilish is especially animated when advocating for environmental causes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2025
I'm wearing black Converse sneakers and a Legend of Zelda T-shirt.
From "Starfish" by Akemi Dawn Bowman
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
She converses with the corpse of her father, apparently a chancellor before her, rotting away in a glass coffin.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 2, 2024
In its relative orderliness and palatability, “Yes and Yes” is not really a danced analogy to the book, but something else, complex in its own ways, true to Roche’s voice as she converses with another.
From New York Times ● May 5, 2023
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
In one unit, students conversed with ChatGPT role-playing the attendees of an 1816 dinner party where Mary Shelley hatched the idea for “Frankenstein,” and then discussed the experience in class.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 1, 2026
“When situations and circumstances arise like that, those will be things that I guarantee you will be addressed and conversed over,” McVay said Friday during a videoconference with reporters.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 19, 2025
The four last defendants - including one woman - are people with whom Anzorov conversed on Snapchat and Twitter and who allegedly offered him encouragement.
From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2024
The actor conversed with Evans in anticipation of his upcoming Apple TV+ drama series “Bad Monkey.”
From Salon ● Aug. 7, 2024
Osborne conversed with his fellow inmates and soon felt sympathetic and righteous.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
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
As long as it’s dialogue and we’re conversing and we are speaking and people are speaking from their point of views, I can absolutely respect that.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 12, 2026
"The more the robot watches humans conversing, the better it will get at imitating the nuanced facial gestures we can emotionally connect with."
From Science Daily ● Jan. 16, 2026
In a new study, researchers found that AI companion chatbots often emotionally manipulate people who want to sign off, trying to get them to stick around and keep conversing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2025
They squat by the passenger's side, conversing in low tones.
From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez
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.
