converse
verb · noun · adjective
Simple meaning
To keep company.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
kahnversSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈkɑnvɚs
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
formalintransitive
To talk; to engage in conversation.
followed by with
To keep company; to hold intimate intercourse; to commune.
noun
now literary
Free verbal interchange of thoughts or views; conversation; chat.
The opposite or reverse.
A shoe of an American-based brand of that name.
adjective
Opposite; reversed in order or relation; reciprocal.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: (formal, intransitive) To talk; to engage in conversation.
Used this way, converse is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It turns up most in academic writing contexts.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Formal
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Formal and precise
Where it naturally appears
- Academic writing
Usage note
Comfortable in writing and prepared speech; in casual conversation a shorter everyday word usually sounds more natural.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use converse
- “We had a long time to converse while waiting for the train.”verb
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.