converse
part of speech
verb (converse, converses, conversed, conversing); noun (the converse); adjective (converse)
meaning for a pupil
1) (verb, formal) To converse is to talk with someone, have a conversation. tree →
2) (noun) The converse is the opposite or the reverse of something. tree →
3) (maths and logic) The converse of a statement «if A, then B» is «if B, then A». tree →
sense in the lessons
As a verb it is a formal or old-fashioned way of saying «talk» or «chat», found in books. In maths and logic the converse swaps the two parts of an «if… then» statement, and the converse of a true statement is not always true. Phrases: converse with, the converse is also true.
examples
- The two old friends conversed quietly by the fire. tree →
- We tried to converse in French on holiday. tree →
- Some people are shy; the converse is true of my sister. tree →
- «If it is a square, it has four sides.» The converse, «If it has four sides, it is a square», is false. tree →
- The queen conversed with the guests at dinner. tree →
- Hot water rises; the converse happens with cold water. tree →
- They conversed together for some time, and then the Thief suddenly yawned and howled like a wolf. tree →
note
Stress: verb con-VERSE, noun and adjective CON-verse. Related: conversation, conversely («in the opposite way»). Maths trap: a statement can be true while its converse is false — always check with an example (a rectangle has four sides but is not a square).
In the corpora
- They encourage one another in an evil matter; they converse of laying snares secretly; they ask, who would see them.
- They hold crafty converse against Thy people, and take counsel against Thy treasured ones.
- As I was in the days of my youth, when the converse of God was upon my tent;
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «converse» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.