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Webster 1913 Edition

Converse

Con-verse′

(kŏn-vẽrs′)
,
Verb.
I.
[
imp. & p. p.
Conversed
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Conversing
.]
[F.
converser
, L.
conversari
to associate with;
con-
+
versari
to be turned, to live, remain, fr.
versare
to turn often, v. intens. of
vertere
to turn See
Convert
.]
1.
To keep company; to hold intimate intercourse; to commune; – followed by with.
To seek the distant hills, and there
converse

With nature.
Thomson.
Conversing
with the world, we use the world’s fashions.
Sir W. Scott.
But to
converse
with heaven -
This is not easy.
Wordsworth.
2.
To engage in familiar colloquy; to interchange thoughts and opinions in a free, informal manner; to chat; – followed by with before a person; by on, about, concerning, etc., before a thing.
Companions
That do
converse
and waste the time together.
Shakespeare
We had
conversed
so often on that subject.
Dryden.
3.
To have knowledge of, from long intercourse or study; – said of things.
Syn. – To associate; commune; discourse; talk; chat.

Con′verse

,
Noun.
1.
Frequent intercourse; familiar communion; intimate association.
Glanvill.
'T is but to hold
Converse
with Nature's charms, and view her stores unrolled.
Byron.
2.
Familiar discourse; free interchange of thoughts or views; conversation; chat.
Formed by thy
converse
happily to steer
From grave to gay, from lively to severe.
Pope.

Con′verse

,
Adj.
[L.
conversus
, p. p. of
convertere
. See
Convert
.]
Turned about; reversed in order or relation; reciprocal;
as, a
converse
proposition
.

Con′verse

,
Noun.
1.
(Logic)
A proposition which arises from interchanging the terms of another, as by putting the predicate for the subject, and the subject for the predicate;
as, no virtue is vice, no vice is virtue
.
☞ It should not (as is often done) be confounded with the contrary or opposite of a proposition, which is formed by introducing the negative not or no.
2.
(Math.)
A proposition in which, after a conclusion from something supposed has been drawn, the order is inverted, making the conclusion the supposition or premises, what was first supposed becoming now the conclusion or inference. Thus, if two sides of a sides of a triangle are equal, the angles opposite the sides are equal; and the converse is true, i.e., if these angles are equal, the two sides are equal.

Webster 1828 Edition

Converse

CONVERSE

,
Verb.
I.
[L., to be turned. Literally, to be turned to or with; to be turned about.]
1.
To keep company; to associate; to cohabit; to hold intercourse and be intimately acquainted; followed by with.
For him who lonely loves to seek the distant hills, and their converse with nature.
2.
To have sexual commerce.
3.
To talk familiarly; to have free intercourse in mutual communication of thoughts and opinions; to convey thoughts reciprocally; followed by with before the person addressed, and on before the subject. Converse as friend with friend. We have often conversed with each other on the merit of Miltons poetry. [This is now the most general use of the word.]

CONVERSE

,
Noun.
1.
Conversation; familiar discourse or talk; free interchange of thoughts or opinions.
Formed by thy converse happily to steer from grave to gay, from lively to severe.
2.
Acquaintance by frequent or customary intercourse; cohabitation; familiarity. In this sense, the word may include discourse, or not; as, to hold converse with persons of different sects; or to hold converse with terrestrial things.
3.
In mathematics, an opposite proposition; thus, after drawing a conclusion from something supposed, we invert the order, making the conclusion the supposition or premises, and draw from it what was first supposed. Thus, if two sides of a triangle are equal, the angles opposite the sides are equal: and the converse is true; if these angles are equal, the two sides are equal.

Definition 2024

converse

converse

See also: conversé

English

Pronunciation

Verb

converse ‎(third-person singular simple present converses, present participle conversing, simple past and past participle conversed)

  1. (formal, intransitive) To talk; to engage in conversation.
    • Shakespeare
      Companions / That do converse and waste the time together.
    • Dryden
      We had conversed so often on that subject.
  2. To keep company; to hold intimate intercourse; to commune; followed by with.
    • Thomson
      To seek the distant hills, and there converse / With nature.
    • Sir Walter Scott
      Conversing with the world, we use the world's fashions.
    • Wordsworth
      But to converse with heaven — This is not easy.
  3. (obsolete) To have knowledge of (a thing), from long intercourse or study.
    • John Locke
      according as the objects they converse with afford greater or less variety
Derived terms
Translations

Noun

converse ‎(plural converses)

  1. (now literary) Familiar discourse; free interchange of thoughts or views; conversation; chat.
    • 1728, Edward Young, Love of Fame, the Universal Passion, Satire V, On Women, lines 44-46:
      Twice ere the sun descends, with zeal inspir'd, / From the vain converse of the world retir'd, / She reads the psalms and chapters for the day [...].
    • 1919, Saki, ‘The Disappearance of Crispina Umerleigh’, The Toys of Peace, Penguin 2000 (Complete Short Stories), p. 405:
      In a first-class carriage of a train speeding Balkanward across the flat, green Hungarian plain, two Britons sat in friendly, fitful converse.

Etymology 2

From Latin conversus ‎(“turned around”), past participle of converto ‎(“turn about”)

Pronunciation

Adjective

converse ‎(not comparable)

  1. Opposite; reversed in order or relation; reciprocal.
    a converse proposition

Noun

converse ‎(plural converses)

  1. The opposite or reverse.
  2. (logic) Of a proposition or theorem of the form: given that "If A is true, then B is true", then "If B is true, then A is true."
    equivalently: given that "All Xs are Ys", then "All Ys are Xs".
    All trees are plants, but the converse, that all plants are trees, is not true.
Derived terms
Translations

Anagrams

French

Adjective

converse

  1. feminine singular of convers

Verb

converse

  1. first-person singular present indicative of converser
  2. third-person singular present indicative of converser
  3. first-person singular present subjunctive of converser
  4. third-person singular present subjunctive of converser
  5. second-person singular imperative of converser

Italian

Alternative forms

Verb

converse

  1. third-person singular past historic of convergere

Anagrams

Latin

Participle

converse

  1. vocative masculine singular of conversus

Portuguese

Verb

converse

  1. first-person singular present subjunctive of conversar
  2. third-person singular present subjunctive of conversar
  3. first-person singular imperative of conversar
  4. third-person singular imperative of conversar

Spanish

Verb

converse

  1. Formal second-person singular (usted) imperative form of conversar.
  2. First-person singular (yo) present subjunctive form of conversar.
  3. Formal second-person singular (usted) present subjunctive form of conversar.
  4. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted?) present subjunctive form of conversar.

Etymology

From Old French converser, from Latin conversare ‎(“live, have dealings with”)

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