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:
"Reading papers from both research fields, we realized that deeper dialogue between researchers from both fields is necessary."
From Science Daily ● Aug. 12, 2026
In a moment when no one can quite agree on how to properly address what’s so clearly happening before our eyes with Grande, a film like “Maddie’s Secret” opens a dialogue.
From Salon ● Aug. 8, 2026
“Invitation” is an achievement in dance for cinema, freed from the spatial and temporal limits of live performance, weaving stories without dialogue, lyrics, or narration.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
However, Conmebol did "express its concern about the repeated unilateral actions taken without resorting to dialogue or the institutional mechanisms provided for dealing with this type of situation".
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
The two friends ran the dialogue back and forth until they could say most of the lines without looking at the page.
From "George" by Alex Gino
"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
Millions of parallel Socratic dialogues, each unique, each responsive to individual curiosity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 13, 2026
“We want dialogues and discussions where the Cubans are the protagonists.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 29, 2026
Yet in comments just hours after her big win, Takaichi sounded a diplomatic note, saying: "Our nation is open to various dialogues with China."
From Barron's ● Feb. 9, 2026
From the end of the seventeenth century, through sermons and lectures, through popular textbooks and dramatic dialogues, the new science was disseminated to a wider audience than ever before.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
I have not dialogued with her about the book, nor have I had the opportunity to read it.
From The Guardian ● Jan. 19, 2016
Dialogue is, indeed, the original word transferred bodily into the English language: διελογιζετο εν ἑαυτῳ—he dialogued in himself: his soul and he held a conversation on the subject.
From The Parables of Our Lord by William Arnot
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
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
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
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
“In the comments, these people are actually dialoguing, actually talking to each other,” Blaschko said.
From Slate ● Mar. 14, 2022
On one tune, “Craig and I started dialoguing, and I realized this wasn’t the usual ‘I’m soloing and you’re gonna comp,’ ” Carter recalled.
From New York Times ● Jun. 22, 2017
Living our lives of faith or motivation with enthusiasm and excitement, convincing other, dialoguing with each other about important moral issues of the day…
From Time ● Oct. 5, 2016
Friedrich sent him a gold snuffbox by and by, but had no farther dialoguing.
From History of Friedrich II of Prussia — Volume 18 by Thomas Carlyle
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.
