conversationalist
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of conversationalist
First recorded in 1830–40; conversational + -ist
Explanation
A conversationalist is someone who likes to chat, and is good at it. Conversationalists love to have — surprise! — conversations. If you’re seated at a long formal dinner party, you hope the person next to you is a great conversationalist or you’re in for a long night. A great conversationalist will tell you interesting things and probably make you laugh. For a conversationalist, chatting and bantering come easily. A conversationalist is witty and clever, like Dorothy Parker. A bad conversationalist would say inappropriate things, like tell you about an infection just as you’re taking a bite of mashed potatoes.
Vocabulary lists containing conversationalist
The Catcher in the Rye
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Words with 15 or More Letters, List 3
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"A Job for Valentin" and "In the Heart of a Hero"
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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.
Jack Paar was the witty conversationalist that made Middle America feel like it was invited to a sophisticated Manhattan cocktail party.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 18, 2025
“We weren’t actively appealing to a younger fan base,” said Hozier, who is a low-key conversationalist, particularly when discussing his accomplishments.
From New York Times • Jun. 18, 2024
Jeff Hiller is a lithe and generous conversationalist – bright, quick-witted, and effortlessly hilarious.
From Salon • May 7, 2023
And now that he’d passed, Daren realized he had no one left to talk to, not that his dad had been much of a conversationalist at the end.
From Slate • Feb. 25, 2023
“Perhaps the best conversationalist in the world is the man who helps others to talk.”
From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
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.
