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
Alissa Wilkinson, New York Times, 29 Dec. 2024
Not to be outdone, one of Kate’s interlocutors makes her case by dragging a massive map of unclear origin across the floor to make a point.
—Alison Herman, Variety, 30 Oct. 2024
One by one, the interlocutors approached the would-be complainants to hear their plights.
—Madeleine Wattenbarger, Eliana Gilet, & Axel Hernández, The Dial, 17 Dec. 2024
Boulos has been in touch with interlocutors across Lebanon's multipolar political world, three sources who spoke to him in recent months say, a rare feat in Lebanon, where decades-old rivalries between factions run deep.
—Andrea Shalal and Maya Gebeily, USA TODAY, 1 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for interlocutor 
Dictionary Entries Near interlocutor
Cite this Entry
“Interlocutor.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/interlocutor. Accessed 26 Jan. 2025.
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