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Glite Dictionary
📚 Knowledgeable about 🗣️ Easy to talk to
conversable

conversable

8.3
Someone who knows a subject well enough to talk about it
  • adjective
  • /kənˈvɜrsəbl/
translation icon : conocedor
  • The professor expects students to be conversable with the main theories before the seminar.

Examples

  • Although not an expert, he is quite conversable in the basics of computer programming.

  • She is conversable with modern art and can discuss many famous painters.

  • She is very conversable about modern art.

  • Is John conversable on the topic of climate change?

  • She is conversable about modern art and can passionately talk about various artists.

  • He is quite conversable regarding the basics of computer programming, making it easy to have discussions with him.

  • The professor wants her students to be conversable with the key theories discussed in class before the seminar.

Synonyms

knowledgeable
vsconversable
92 4.1

A person who has learned a lot about a subject

is more about being able to talk about a subject rather than general education
well-informed
vsconversable
33 3.5

A person who knows a lot about a subject or the world

is focused on having enough depth to discuss topics intelligently
conversant
vsconversable
5 6.9

Familiar with a subject through experience or study

is about knowing enough to discuss the subject intelligently

Antonyms

unfamiliar
104 4.4

Not known or seen before

How Knowledgeable

expert
3 3.5
knowledgeable
92 4.1
conversable
8.3
familiar
476 2.8
acquainted
1 3.9

Surface Forms

conversable positive

Morphology

conversable = converse + converse + converse + converse (transparent) = converse + able

Formation is the productive verb 'converse' + the adjectival suffix '-able', yielding 'able to converse/about', which directly supports the sense 'knowledgeable about' as 'able to discuss'.

Etymology

Conversable comes from the same root convers- as conversation and converse, which once meant 'live with' or 'deal with' something. So to be conversable with a subject is to be familiar enough to discuss it clearly and intelligently.