converse

¹

[kuhn-vurs, kon-vurs]

verb (used without object)

conversed, conversing 

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

[kuhn-vurs, kon-vurs, kon-vurs]

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

[kon-vurs]

noun

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

converse

¹

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

/ 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

Other Word Forms

• converser noun
• conversely adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of converse¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English conversen, from Middle French converser, from Latin conversārī “to associate with”; 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; convert ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of converse¹

C16: from Old French converser, from Latin conversārī to keep company with, from conversāre to turn constantly, from vertere to turn

Origin of converse²

C16: from Latin conversus turned around; see _converse ¹

Synonym Study

See speak.

Example Sentences

Later in the same episode, she laments what could have been as she converses with a stranger she meets at a resort lounge.

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Baruch was familiar with the loneliness that accompanies addiction, and in 2010 began to converse with homeless individuals resting outside gas stations or convenient stores over a cup of coffee.

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Below the cliff where Arisu and this gentleman converse lies a vast body of churning water with a foreboding whirlpool at its heart.

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These people might look like they’re conversing, having lively battles of collegiate wit, stereotypical of an Ivy League institution.

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Weber, who shares several scenes with Kotsur where they converse in sign language, said he was awed when he met the Oscar winner on the first day of rehearsals.

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