conversation

[kon-ver-sey-shuhn]

noun

1. 1. informal interchange of thoughts, information, etc., by spoken words; oral communication between persons; talk.

      how to master the art of conversation.

   2. such interchange by sign language, email, or other nonoral means of communication.

      I enjoy our time on the phone, but she prefers conversation by texting.

   3. an instance of this.

      I had a long phone conversation with my cousin in Florida.

   Synonyms: colloquy, chat, dialogue

2. an informal public exchange of ideas or opinions about a particular issue; a dialogue.

   It’s time for a global conversation about the epidemic.

3. association or social intercourse.

   a year's conversation with him as his caregiver and friend.

4. criminal conversation.

5. the ability to talk socially with others.

   She writes well but has no conversation.

6. Obsolete.

   1. behavior or manner of living.

   2. close familiarity; intimate acquaintance, as from constant use or study.

conversation

/ ˌkɒnvəˈseɪʃən /

noun

1. the interchange through speech of information, ideas, etc; spoken communication

2. to talk in an artificial way

Other Word Forms

• preconversation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of conversation¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English conversacio(u)n, from Latin conversātiōn- (stem of conversātiō ) “familiarity, conduct, behavior,” equivalent to conversāt(us), past participle of conversārī “to associate with” + -iōn- noun suffix; converse ¹, -ion

Idioms and Phrases

• make conversation

Example Sentences

A new Bollywood film has reignited an age-old conversation around how India's largest and most influential film industry represents characters from non-Hindi speaking states.

From BBC

My conversation with the two actors took place on Labor Day.

From Los Angeles Times

Remembering my conversation with Hopper while watching his sentencing on Thursday, it was clear that as a journalist you never quite know where a story will take you.

From BBC

Training involves feeding enormous quantities of data — including social media posts, photos, music, computer code, video and more — to train AI bots to discern patterns of language, images, sound and conversation that they can mimic.

From Los Angeles Times

But Hey had training in search and rescue, so he struck up a conversation with Montgomery and asked a few important questions.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• chat 
• comment 
• communication 
• conference 
• consultation 
• debate 
• discussion 
• exchange 
• gossip 
• hearing 
• observation 
• questioning 
• remark 
• speech 
• talk 
• visit