# dialog

Pronunciation: US say "DY-uh-lawg" /ˈdaɪəlɑɡ/; UK say "DY-uh-log" /ˈdaɪəlɒɡ/

## Noun

1. A conversation or other spoken or written exchange between two or more people.
   - Simple: A talk or exchange of words between two or more people.
   - _The mayor promised to open a dialog with residents about the planned highway._
   - _After hours of dialog, the two leaders still disagreed on the main points._
2. The spoken parts of a script or text in a dramatic or literary work: the words the actors or characters say.
   - Simple: The words that actors or characters speak in a movie, play, or book.
   - _Critics praised the show's sharp, fast-paced dialog._
   - _The novelist reads every line of dialog aloud to check that it sounds like real speech._
3. A literary form in which a work is set out so that it resembles a conversation.
   - Simple: A kind of writing that is set out like a talk between people.
   - _Her new book on ethics is written as a dialog between a teacher and a doubtful student._
   - _Philosophers have long used the dialog to let opposing views argue it out on the page._
4. Short for dialog box: a small window on a computer screen that asks the user to confirm something or make a choice. — Ellipsis of dialog box.
   - Simple: Short form of dialog box. It is the small window that pops up and asks you to choose something.
   - _The installer threw an error dialog halfway through the setup._
   - _She dismissed the confirmation dialog and continued editing._

## Verb

5. To talk or negotiate with others so that everyone involved can reach an understanding. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To talk things through with other people so that everyone can reach an understanding.
   - _We need to dialog with the vendors about the delivery delays before the quarter ends._
   - _Union leaders have been dialoging with management about the new shift schedule._
6. To turn something into the form of a conversation between speakers.
   - Simple: To write something again so that it reads like a talk between people.
   - _Rather than summarize the debate, the author chose to dialog it, giving each side its own speaker._
   - _The playwright dialoged the novel's long letters, turning them into scenes between the two sisters._

## Verb

7. To take part in a dialog, talking back and forth with another. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To have a talk with someone, each one speaking in turn.

## Origin

A variant spelling of "dialogue," analyzable as dia- + -log or di- + -alog.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/dialog (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).