conversant

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adjective con·ver·sant \ kən-ˈvər-sᵊnt also ˈkän-vər-sənt \

Definition of conversant

1 archaic :having frequent or familiar association

2 archaic :concerned, occupied

3 :having knowledge or experience —used with with

conversant with modern history

is conversant with the operating system of the computer

See conversant defined for English-language learners

See conversant defined for kids

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Examples of conversant in a Sentence

She's conversant in several languages.
a world traveler who is highly conversant with the customs of foreign cultures

Recent Examples of conversant from the Web

One of the biggest challenges was finding a priest conversant in sign language and familiar with the deaf culture.

— ken byron, courant.com, "Hartford Archdiocese Starts New Ministry For Deaf Catholics," 25 Aug. 2017
James is 25 and is conversant almost solely in the insanely labyrinthine plots of the show, which delivers some bizarre messages.

— bill goodykoontz, Detroit Free Press, "Review: Offbeat ‘Brigsby Bear’ is charming and disturbing," 17 Aug. 2017
How is the market: Your broker should be conversant with the market in which your building competes, the trends up or down and the prospects for the next six months.

— allen buchanan, Orange County Register, "What all commercial real estate owners want to know," 20 May 2017
The certificate program helped me become conversant in technologies that allow me to fulfill an important cross-functional role at a rapidly growing company.

— seattle university, The Seattle Times, "Have you considered getting a Web Development Certificate?," 17 May 2017
Well, there were still the career officials in the National Security Division who had been working with me on this matter that were there and were certainly conversant in the facts.

— washington post staff, Washington Post, "Full transcript: Sally Yates and James Clapper testify on Russian election interference," 8 May 2017
At what point did the Circle put a hiring freeze on anyone conversant with epistemology? Lampooning the simple-mindedness of utopian web clichés was arguably part of Mr. Eggers’s point, but much of that point is often muddled in the book.

— glenn kenny, New York Times, "Review: In ‘The Circle,’ Click Here if You Think You’re Being Watched," 27 Apr. 2017
My sister is a cognitive scientist at M.I.T., more conversant than most people in the mental processes involved in tracking and misplacing objects.

— kathryn schulz, The New Yorker, "When Things Go Missing," 3 Feb. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'conversant.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

The adjectives "conversant" and "conversational" are related; both are descendants of Latin conversari, meaning "to associate with." The earliest English meaning of "conversant" in the 1300s 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."