CONVERSANT
adjective | kun-VER-sunt
What It Means
Conversant, usually used in the phrase “conversant with,” describes someone who has knowledge of or experience with something.
// The ideal candidate for the sommelier position will have expert knowledge of the various wines served in the restaurant and be conversant with the rich world of viniculture.
Conversant in Context
“The advantages of franchise expansion are obvious. These shows benefit from name recognition and a dedicated audience, as well as writers, producers and crew members already conversant with that audience’s expectations.” — Alexis Soloski, The New York Times, 6 July 2025
Did You Know?
The adjectives conversant and conversational both descend from the Latin verb conversari, meaning “to associate with.” Conversant dates to the Middle Ages; an early meaning of the word was simply “having familiar association.” One way to associate with others is to have a conversation with them—in other words, to talk. For a short time in the 19th century conversant could mean “relating to or suggesting conversation,” but for the most part that meaning stayed with conversational while conversant went in a different direction. Today, conversant is sometimes used, especially in the United States, with the meaning “able to talk in a foreign language,” as in “she is conversant in several languages,” but it is more often associated with knowledge or familiarity, as in “conversant with the issues.”
Merriam Webster Dictionary
