conversation
UK/ˌkɒn.vəˈseɪ.ʃn̩//ˌkɑn.vəɹˈseɪ.ʃən/
conversation noun: expression and exchange of individual ideas through talking with other people; also, a set instance or occasion of such talking.
Noun
conversation (countable and uncountable, plural conversations)
- Expression and exchange of individual ideas through talking with other people; also, a set instance or occasion of such talking.
- I had an interesting conversation with Nicolas yesterday about how much he's getting paid.
- You need to improve conversation in foreign languages.
- Synonyms:
- intercourse, visit, banter, chat, chinwag, dialogue, discussion, interlocution, powwow, table talk
- Dialogue or interaction regarding a topic.
- The back-and-forth play of the blades in a bout.
- The protocol-based interaction between systems processing a transaction.
- Interaction; commerce or intercourse with other people; dealing with others.
- Yt chaunſed thatt a whole yere they had their converſacion with the congregacion there / and taught moche people in ſomoche thatt the diſciples off Antioche wer the fyrſt that wer called Chriſten.1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, The Actes off the Apostles xj:[26], folios clxxi, recto – clxxi, verso
- Behaviour, the way one conducts oneself; a person's way of life.
- Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Hebrews 13:5
- There are many that take no heed what happeneth to others by bad conversation, and therefore overthrow themselves in the same manner through their own fault, not foreseeing dangers manifest.1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC
- Sexual intercourse.
- criminal conversation
- Ariadne[…]quitted her Lover Theseus, for the tumultuous Conversation of Bacchus.1723, Charles Walker, Memoirs of the Life of Sally Salisbury
- Synonyms:
- aphrodisia, carnal knowledge, coitus, coition, commerce, commixtion, congress, conjunction, connection, consummation
- Engagement with a specific subject, idea, field of study etc.
- So grosse is our conuersation, and dull is our apprehension: while mortall Sense, in vs, ruleth the common wealth of our litle world.1570, John Dee, in H. Billingsley (trans.) Euclid, Elements of Geometry, Preface
- Synonyms:
- understanding, familiarity
- A kind of confectionery lozenge bearing a message on its surface.
Verb
conversation (third-person singular simple present conversations, present participle conversationing, simple past and past participle conversationed)
- To engage in conversation (with).
- Gone now are the "high-minded" style, the "adapted from literature" feel, the voice-over narration, and the abstract conversationing about ideas, values...1983, James Frederick Mason, Hélène Joséphine Harvitt, The French review
- ...he has breakfasted me, dined me, conversationed me, absolutely caressed me. He has been really most kind and paternal...1989, Robert L Gale, A Henry James encyclopedia
conversation meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
conversation in Hindi
- expression and exchange of individual ideas through talking with other people
- बातचीत bātcīt, गुफ़्तगू guftagū, संवाद samvād
conversation in Tamil
- expression and exchange of individual ideas through talking with other people
- உரையாடல் uraiyāṭal
conversation in Marathi
- expression and exchange of individual ideas through talking with other people
- संवाद sauvād, संभाषण sambhāṣaṇ
conversation in Urdu
- expression and exchange of individual ideas through talking with other people
- بات چِیت bāt cīt, گُفْتگُو guftgū, گُفْتَگُو guftagū, مُکالَمَہ mukālama, صُحْبَت suhbat, بَحْث bahs
More languagesFewer languages
- conversation in Bengali
- সংলাপ śoṅlap
- conversation in Telugu
- సంభాషణ sambhāṣaṇa
- conversation in Malayalam
- സംഭാഷണം sambhāṣaṇaṁ
- conversation in Kannada
- ಸಂಭಾಷಣೆ sambhāṣaṇe
- conversation in Punjabi
- ਗੱਲ ਕੱਥ galla kattha, ਗੁਫ਼ਤਗੂ guftagū
- conversation in Gujarati
- વાતચીત vātcīt
- conversation in Odia
- କଥା kathā
- conversation in Sanskrit
- संवाद saṃvāda
- conversation in Pashto
- محاوره mahāwera, ګړهار gaṛahār, بيور byur, تکلم takalom
- conversation in Tagalog
- pagsasalitaan, pag-uusap
- conversation in Arabic
- مُحَادَثَة muḥādaṯa, مُكَالَمَة mukālama, حِوَار ḥiwār, مُذَاكَرَة muḏākara
- conversation in Malay
- perbualan, percakapan
- conversation in Indonesian
- percakapan
- conversation in Thai
- การสนทนา gaan-sǒn-tá-naa
- conversation in Myanmar
- အပြော a.prau:
Examples of conversation in a sentence
- The interview is two straight hours in conversation with the senator.
- That's my contribution to the health care conversation.
- Study gives strength to the mind; conversation, grace: the first apt to give stiffness, the other suppleness: one gives substance and form to the statue, the other polishes it.1699, William Temple, Heads designed for an essay on conversations:
- “A little conversation!” / “Conversation—that’s it!” murmured Mademoiselle Noémie, who had caught the word.1876 June, Henry James, Jr., “The American”, in The Atlantic Monthly: A Magazine of Literature, Science, Art, and Politics, volume XXXVII...
- When this conversation was repeated in detail within the hearing of the young woman in question, and undoubtedly for his benefit, Mr.1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter V, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company...
- In the present connexion—or rather as a transition from the subject that started their conversation—such talk had been distressingly out of place.1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
Synonyms of conversation
30 more synonymsFewer synonyms
- carnal knowledge
- coitus
- coition
- connection
- consummation
- copulation
- coupling
- intimacy
- intimate relations
- intromission
- joining
- lovemaking
- lustmaking
- mating
- mounting
- pareunia
- penetration
- relations
- sex
- sexual congress
- sexual intercourse
- sexual relation
- sexual union
- swiving
- union
- the beast with two backs
- the birds and the bees
- boom-boom
- chesterfield rugby
- horizontal dancing
Forms of conversation
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | conversations |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | conversations |
| present participle | conversationing |
| past participle | conversationed |
| past | conversationed |
Origin of conversation
From Middle English conversacioun, from Old French conversacion and its etymon, Latin conversātiōnem, accusative singular of conversātiō (“conversation”), from conversor (“abide, keep company with”). Displaced native Old English wordlaþu. Doublet of conversazione. Morphologically converse + -ation.
Words formed from conversation
- conversationable
- conversational
- conversation analysis
- conversation heart
- conversationism
- conversationist
- conversationize
- conversationless
- conversation lozenge
- conversation piece
- conversation pit
- conversation set
- conversation-stopper
- conversation stopper
- convo
- criminal conversation
- cyberconversation
- make conversation
- metaconversation
- midconversation
- nonconversation
- nonversation
- protoconversation
- subconversation
- teleconversation
- textversation
- topic of conversation
Phrases with conversation
Words that rhyme with conversation
- station
- collation
- accommodation
- presentation
- derivation
- information
- modulation
- translation
- application
- fixation
- generation
- orientation
48 more rhymesFewer rhymes
- citation
- combination
- communication
- conjugation
- constellation
- determination
- elevation
- operation
- relation
- reservation
- alternation
- condensation
- deviation
- excavation
- foliation
- formation
- foundation
- incarnation
- interpretation
- representation
- retardation
- speculation
- termination
- abbreviation
- adaptation
- articulation
- bifurcation
- concentration
- congregation
- declination
- degradation
- expectation
- extenuation
- gradation
- observation
- population
- preparation
- reconciliation
- rotation
- separation
- situation
- vexation
- vindication
- accumulation
- administration
- aggregation
- appropriation
- attenuation
Questions about conversation
- What does conversation mean?
- Conversation means expression and exchange of individual ideas through talking with other people; also, a set instance or occasion of such talking.
- What is conversation in Hindi?
- Conversation in Hindi is बातचीत (bātcīt), गुफ़्तगू (guftagū), संवाद (samvād). See Conversation meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use conversation in a sentence?
- The interview is two straight hours in conversation with the senator.
- What part of speech is conversation?
- Conversation can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce conversation?
- Conversation is pronounced /ˌkɒn.vəˈseɪ.ʃn̩/ (UK).
- What is the plural of conversation?
- The plural of conversation is conversations.
Words near conversation in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: conversation (page history and authors); ਗੁਫ਼ਤਗੂ (Punjabi) (page history and authors); କଥା (Odia) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-conversation.ogg.
Cite this entry: “conversation.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/conversation. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.