converse
converse Lexical Profile
converse Game Scores & Validity
• verb
To engage in conversation; to talk informally or exchange thoughts and opinions in speech.
"The delegates were able to converse fluently in several European languages."
• noun
A situation, object, or statement that is the reverse or opposite of another.
"While wealth can bring comfort, the converse is not always misery."
In logic and mathematics, a proposition obtained by reversing the subject and predicate, or the hypothesis and conclusion, of a given proposition.
"In geometry, the converse of the Pythagorean theorem also holds true."
Conversation or familiar discourse (now formal or literary).
"The two scholars spent the evening in quiet, philosophical converse."
• adjective
Reversed in order, relation, or action; opposite or contrary.
"The study examined the effect of sleep on mood as well as the converse relationship."
Word Nuance & Usage
'Converse' is a heteronym: as a verb ('to talk'), the stress falls on the second syllable (kuhn-VURS), whereas as a noun or adjective ('the opposite'), the stress falls on the first syllable (KON-vurs).
• Rhymes for converse
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
The verb derives from Old French 'converser', from Latin 'conversari' ('to live with, keep company with'), frequentative of 'convertere' ('to turn around'). The noun and adjective senses meaning 'opposite' derive directly from the Latin past participle 'conversus' ('turned around').