Jump To:

• converse
  converse

  verb (used without object)

  to talk informally with another or others; exchange views, opinions, etc., by talking.
• Converse
  Converse

  noun

  Frederick Shepherd 1871–1940, U.S. composer.

converse

¹ American  

[kuhn-vurs, kon-vurs] / kənˈvɜrs, ˈkɒn vɜrs /

verb (used without object)

• converses,
  present (3rd person singular)
• conversed,
  past participle,  past
• conversing
  present participle

1. to talk informally with another or others; exchange views, opinions, etc., by talking.

   Synonyms:

   jaw, gab, talk, confer, chat

2. Archaic. to maintain a familiar association (usually followed bywith ).

3. Obsolete. to have sexual intercourse (usually followed bywith ).

---

noun

1. familiar discourse or talk; conversation.

converse ² American  

[kuhn-vurs, kon-vurs, kon-vurs] / kənˈvɜrs, ˈkɒn vɜrs, ˈkɒn vɜrs /

adjective

1. opposite or contrary in direction, action, sequence, etc.; turned around.

---

noun

1. something opposite or contrary.

2. Logic.

   1. a proposition obtained from another proposition by conversion.

   2. the relation between two terms, one of which is related to the other in a given manner, as “younger than” to “older than.”

3. 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.”

Converse ³ American  

[kon-vurs] / ˈkɒn vɜrs /

noun

1. Frederick Shepherd 1871–1940, U.S. composer.

---

converse ¹ British  

verb

1. to engage in conversation (with)

2. to commune spiritually (with)

3. obsolete

   1. to associate; consort

   2. to have sexual intercourse

---

noun

1. conversation (often in the phrase hold converse with )

2. obsolete

   1. fellowship or acquaintance

   2. sexual intercourse

converse ² British  

/ ˈkɒnvɜːs /

adjective

1. (prenominal) reversed; opposite; contrary

---

noun

1. something that is opposite or contrary

2. logic

   1. 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

   2. 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

3. 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

Synonym Usage

See speak.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• converser
  noun
• conversely
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• conversing
  present
• conversed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• converse
  simple
• converses
  simple
• have conversed
  perfect
• has conversed
  perfect
• am conversing
  progressive
• are conversing
  progressive
• is conversing
  progressive
• have been conversing
  perfect progressive
• has been conversing
  perfect progressive

Past

• conversed
  simple
• had conversed
  perfect
• was conversing
  progressive
• were conversing
  progressive
• had been conversing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will converse
  simple
• will have conversed
  perfect
• will be conversing
  progressive
• will have been conversing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of converse¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English conversen, from Middle French converser, from Latin conversārī “to associate with”; see con-, verse

Origin of converse²

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

Explanation

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!

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

converse Converse converses conversed conversing

"They don't have those natural moments where they can just make sense of something that's happened to them, converse with each other, put it down and move onto the next job," she said.

From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026

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

Meanwhile, a separate team of coders that made Moltbook, a Reddit-like pseudo social network where OpenClaw agents converse, are joining Meta.

From Barron's ● Mar. 13, 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

I do my best to get a leash on my catastrophizing, and we commingle, converse, and serve the community.

From "Odd One Out" by Nic Stone

We would loiter, mostly, and eat the shredded beef nachos that I still think about to this day while the plastic of our high-top Converse grilled on the scalding asphalt.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026

Prosecutors played soundless footage of him that night, wearing a maroon shirt, dark hat, jeans and Converse shoes, and he was transported back to Utah County and formally booked on 12 September.

From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026

It has made progress in some areas—including its running, wholesale and North American businesses—but has hit hurdles in China, as well as with its Converse brand and sportswear offerings.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026

Nike also said it would be streamlining work at its Air Manufacturing Innovation facilities in Beaverton, Ore., St. Louis and Vietnam, and relocating some manufacturing related to its Converse sneaker brand.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 23, 2026

We decide to wear leggings and long shirts, but not the same colors—that’s for little kids—and Converse sneakers.

From "Blended" by Sharon M. Draper

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

Convinced that Nancy is a cipher for her own lost youth, Myrtle intermittently hallucinates the dead girl’s ghost, and even converses with it.

From New York Times ● Mar. 26, 2024

Rizzs listened to all the games he’s missed on radio or watched on television, and converses knowledgeable about the recent outings of Bryce Miller and Logan Gilbert.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 18, 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

Norman said he conversed with Trump twice on Friday.

From BBC ● Jan. 3, 2025

Ohtani and Dodgers coaches have conversed more directly in the dugout and the clubhouse, according to multiple coaches.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 26, 2024

Instead she toured the clinic and conversed with healthcare providers and patients who were interested in speaking with her.

From Salon ● Mar. 14, 2024

The wise man conversed with everyone, and the boy had to wait for two hours before it was his turn to be given the man’s attention.

From "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho

During the pandemic, some employees would spent their lunch breaks conversing with the chatbots for fun, Zinger said.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026

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

The lion’s share of his menu drawings were completed in the two to three hours that he spent enjoying his meal and conversing with his dining companions.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 12, 2026

He came to see innovation arising not from like-minded or similarly trained people conversing with each other, but from a friction of ideas and approaches.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 28, 2026

The animals were now busy conversing with each other, the forest once again lively with chatter, but he felt the distinct sensation that they were keeping an eye on him.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman