dialogue
Americannoun
-
dialogues
plural
-
conversation between two or more persons.
-
the conversation between characters in a novel, drama, etc.
-
an exchange of ideas or opinions on a particular issue, especially a political or religious issue, with a view to reaching an amicable agreement or settlement.
-
a literary work in the form of a conversation.
a dialogue of Plato.
verb (used without object)
-
dialogues,
present (3rd person singular)
-
dialogued,
past participle, past
-
dialoguing
present participle
-
to carry on a dialogue; converse.
-
to discuss areas of disagreement frankly in order to resolve them.
verb (used with object)
-
dialogues,
present (3rd person singular)
-
dialogued,
past participle, past
-
dialoguing
present participle
noun
-
conversation between two or more people
-
an exchange of opinions on a particular subject; discussion
-
the lines spoken by characters in drama or fiction
-
a particular passage of conversation in a literary or dramatic work
-
a literary composition in the form of a dialogue
-
a political discussion between representatives of two nations or groups
verb
-
(tr) to put into the form of a dialogue
-
(intr) to take part in a dialogue; converse
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
dialoguesimple
-
dialoguessimple
-
have dialoguedperfect
-
has dialoguedperfect
-
am dialoguingprogressive
-
are dialoguingprogressive
-
is dialoguingprogressive
-
have been dialoguingperfect progressive
-
has been dialoguingperfect progressive
Past
-
dialoguedsimple
-
had dialoguedperfect
-
was dialoguingprogressive
-
were dialoguingprogressive
-
had been dialoguingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of dialogue
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English, from Old French dïalogue, Latin dialogus, from Greek diálogos; equivalent to dia- + -logue
Explanation
If you land a role in a local play, you will probably have to memorize several lines of dialogue. If you disagree with how that play is being produced, you may want to open up a dialogue with the director. Dialogue can refer to spoken lines in a dramatic performance such as a play, a film, or a television show. It is also any conversation between two or more people. On the written page, dialogue between characters is usually enclosed by quotation marks. When persons representing different political parties or different nations are said to engage in a dialogue, it means they are probably negotiating something of importance.
Vocabulary lists containing dialogue
TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
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AP English Lit exam terms
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Language and Grammar - Introductory
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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:
China is willing to work with the international community to get the parties to return to dialogue and "seek a political solution to the conflict", Wang said.
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
Your own inner dialogue is being played out with your wife, but it doesn’t have a great deal of consistency.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026
Nearly 40 years later, NPCs have come a long way, with increasingly complex behaviors and conversational dialogue that span far more than just three words.
From Salon ● Oct. 12, 2026
The fast-and-furious dialogue hits its nadir when Madison’s Frances slips Jeff important documents that he can’t even read because she nonsensically starts chattering about the looming coronavirus.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
This new consensus must begin with dialogue, a conversation that fosters a critical consciousness, a key prerequisite to effective social action.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
Shouldn’t a museum, of all places, be where complex dialogues about art and humanity can prosper?
From Salon ● Sep. 5, 2026
A senior county official said the dialogues have been productive and could result in a resolution soon—a prospect that doesn’t sit well with the Fisher Island interests.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 31, 2026
"The two countries have a long history of backchannel dialogues," Markey notes, "and these have at times been effective ways to mitigate hostility and even to set the stage for more formal dialogues."
From BBC ● May 7, 2026
Researchers worked with Le Chat, a generative AI tool developed by the French start‑up Mistral, training it on Moliere's body of work, as well as dialogues and philosophical treatises.
From Barron's ● May 4, 2026
Before leaving New York, I enrolled in a monthlong French class taught by a beautiful young Parisian woman who had us memorize a series of dialogues from an audiocassette that accompanied our textbook.
From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris
I have not dialogued with her about the book, nor have I had the opportunity to read it.
From The Guardian ● Jan. 19, 2016
Thus foolishly dialogued I with my heart; and yet, all the time, this heart is Pamela.
From Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded by Samuel Richardson
At the end of the fifteenth century F. de Rojas wrote a dialogued story, Calisto e Melibœa, about two distressed lovers.
From Folkways A Study of the Sociological Importance of Usages, Manners, Customs, Mores, and Morals by William Graham Sumner
Through the dialogued story it led up to the drama.
From Folkways A Study of the Sociological Importance of Usages, Manners, Customs, Mores, and Morals by William Graham Sumner
They read very much like dialogued essays; and it is interesting to compare them with Addison's essays which treat sometimes of the same subjects.
From The English Novel in the Time of Shakespeare by J. J. Jusserand
Interspersed throughout the story are black-and-white “mystical visions,” as Anderson calls them, in which Korda sees himself in heaven atoning for his sins and even dialoguing with God.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2025
"It's sort of a cool checks and balances system. That's important, because we've had some really good success as far as dialoguing and getting people on board with what we're doing," she says.
From Salon ● Dec. 4, 2022
“In the comments, these people are actually dialoguing, actually talking to each other,” Blaschko said.
From Slate ● Mar. 14, 2022
“We’re dialoguing with this masterpiece in the new forms of art, video, dance, theater. It’s like saying thank you to a masterpiece like the Sistine Chapel.”
From New York Times ● Mar. 12, 2018
Who has not burst into laughter on reading that excellent comic scene where he paints himself dialoguing with her before the registrar?
From Beaumarchais and the War of American Independence by Elizabeth S. Kite
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