conversation

brief, short

lengthy, long

She had a lengthy conversation with her doctor about the test results.

endless

We had an endless conversation about what to do for her birthday party.

informal, normal, ordinary

My friend and I had a normal conversation about our weekend plans over coffee.

intimate, personal, private

face-to-face

overheard, recorded, taped

phone/telephone

civilized, polite

At the dinner party, they managed to keep the conversation civilized despite their strong disagreements.

friendly, pleasant

animated

fascinating, good, intelligent, interesting, stimulating

Meeting her at the conference led to a fascinating conversation about sustainable architecture.

proper, real, serious

We had a serious conversation about moving to a different city last weekend.

enter, join (in)

break off

conclude, end, finish

avoid

He tried to avoid conversation at the family dinner by staying on his phone.

encourage

The teacher asked open-ended questions to encourage conversation among the shy students.

hear, listen to, overhear

interrupt

resume

have no

My uncle is shy and has little conversation at family dinners, so meals feel awkward.

take place

The important conversation between the two managers took place during lunch.

continue, proceed

The friendly conversation continued late into the evening as they caught up on old times.

come back/round to, drift, move on (to), switch, turn to, veer back/off

We were chatting about work when the conversation suddenly switched to politics.

simple

After dinner, we had a simple conversation about our plans for the weekend.

strange

chance

She started a conversation with a stranger on the train and they became lifelong friends.

desultory, halting, stilted

The dinner guests exchanged a stilted conversation about the weather before finally relaxing.

hushed, low-voiced, murmured, muted, muttered, quiet, whispered

shouted

one-sided, two-way

Our dinner with the new neighbors turned into a one-sided conversation about their vacation photos.

imaginary

after-dinner

adult

The conversation between the two adults drifted toward topics that bored the teenagers at the table.

snatch

We could only catch snatches of conversation because the music was so loud.

carry on, have, hold, make

At the dinner party, I tried to make conversation with the new guests, but they seemed uninterested.

begin, draw sb into, engage sb in, fall into, get into, open, start, strike up

At the party, Sarah managed to strike up a conversation with the famous author she had admired for years.

be deep in, be engaged in

The two old friends were engaged in conversation for hours at the café.

continue, keep up

My grandmother continued the conversation even though my grandfather had fallen asleep.

control, dominate

bring around/round, steer, turn

She gently steered the conversation away from politics and toward their upcoming vacation plans.

cease, end, stop

The meeting stopped when our boss walked in and everyone went silent.

run out

We were enjoying the dinner until our conversation ran out and an awkward silence fell.

during ~

People often check their phones during conversation, which can seem rude.

in ~ with

The director sat in conversation with several students about their film project ideas.

~ about

My parents had an interesting conversation about whether I should study abroad next year.

~ between

There was an interesting conversation between my teacher and the principal about the new school policy.

~ on

We had an interesting conversation on climate change during dinner last night.

~ with

She enjoyed a long conversation with her grandmother about family history.

an attempt at conversation

During the awkward dinner, his attempts at conversation with the new neighbors fell completely flat.

be in close/deep/earnest conversation (with sb)

The two old friends were in deep conversation about their lives since they last met.

a babble/buzz/hum of conversation

At the noisy café, we struggled to hear each other over the constant hum of conversation around us.

during the course of (the) conversation

While chatting with my neighbor, it turned out during the course of the conversation that we both grew up in the same town.

keep the conversation going

She asked interesting questions to keep the conversation going at the dinner table.

a lull in the conversation, a topic of conversation

During dinner, there was a sudden lull in the conversation when nobody knew what to say.