interlocutor
noun
Did you know?
It may not necessarily be grandiloquence to use the word interlocutor in casual speech, but if your interlocutors—that is, the people with whom you are speaking—are using it, your conversation is likely a formal one. Interlocutor is one of many English words that comes from the Latin verb loqui, “to speak,” including loquacious (“talkative”), eloquent (“capable of fluent or vivid speech”), and grandiloquence (“extravagant or pompous speech”). In interlocutor, loqui was joined to inter- forming a Latin word meaning “to speak between” or “to issue an interlocutory decree.” An interlocutory decree is a judicial decision that isn’t final, or that deals with a point other than the principal subject matter of the dispute.
Examples of interlocutor in a Sentence
David E. Sanger, New York Times, 15 Apr. 2024
One of the learnings here is that developers should think of LLMs as a language interlocutor, rather than a source of truth.
—Sridhar Ramaswamy, Fortune, 11 Apr. 2024
The conversations—with Moyra Davey, Jacqueline Rose, and Simone White, among others—are as varied as the respective ties between the interlocutors, who are in some cases meeting over video and in others exchanging long, digressive dialogue via e-mail.
—Lauren Michele Jackson, The New Yorker, 7 Apr. 2024
During a recent trip to Pakistan and Qatar, senior government interlocutors told one of us that the Taliban were unlikely to change their anti-women policies.
—Lisa Curtis, Foreign Affairs, 28 Mar. 2024
Perennially delighted and deeply uncool, Tascioni gabbles about the wonders of the city while her interlocutors roll their eyes at her lack of sophistication and taste.
—Lili Loofbourow, Washington Post, 29 Feb. 2024
After all, as Putin has always seen it, his real interlocutor is not the government in Kyiv but its Western backers, the U.S. most of all.
—Joshua Yaffa, The New Yorker, 8 Jan. 2024
Russo’s Israeli interlocutor scoffed at the claim, suggesting anger at Israel is more prevalent online and on social media platforms such as TikTok than in the real world, according to the memo.
—Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 25 Mar. 2024
Every style capital has its own personality, with interlocutors who make fashion decisions that play into the specific energy of their surroundings.
—Nichelle Dailey, Los Angeles Times, 16 Jan. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'interlocutor.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near interlocutor
Cite this Entry
“Interlocutor.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/interlocutor. Accessed 28 Apr. 2024.
Copy Citation
Share