Skip to main content
conversationist

conversationist

8.0
A person who talks easily and makes others enjoy talking
  • noun
  • /ˌkɒnvərˈseɪʃənɪst/
translation icon : conversador
  • He is a skilled conversationist, capable of making anyone feel comfortable during discussions.

Examples

  • Learning to be a good conversationist can greatly enhance your social interactions.

  • As a natural conversationist, she always knew how to keep the dialogue flowing.

  • Quite a pair of conversationists, aren't you?

Synonyms

conversationalist
vsconversationist
12 6.3

A person who talks in an interesting, friendly way

is skilled at engaging generally rather than aiming to be especially interesting
schmoozer
vsconversationist
  • Informal
1 7.9

A person who talks in a friendly way to get what they want

focuses on engaging without charm used to persuade or gain advantage

How Skilled

raconteur
5 8.6
conversationist
8.0
speaker
478 2.1
talker
69 2.1

Surface Forms

Morphology

conversationist = conversation (transparent) = conversation + ist

Meaning is directly built from 'conversation' + the agentive suffix '-ist' meaning a person who engages in or is skilled at conversations.

Etymology

The word conversationist comes from conversation, made of con- 'with' and a root meaning 'to turn', plus the ending -ist, as in artist, which means 'person who does something'. Think of a conversation as people 'turning' the talk between them, so a conversationist is someone who is good at taking turns and keeping a talk going.