Conversant With: Standard Pattern
Conversant With: Standard Pattern records the directly documented construction and keeps guidance bounded to the evidenced complement pattern rather than inventing a broader prohibition.
Use “conversant with” to say that someone is familiar with or knowledgeable about a subject, system, or field.
Key details
Choose the right form
| Meaning / situation | Form / construction | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| a person is familiar with a subject | conversant with + subject | Use the documented pattern. |
| a person knows a system or field | conversant with + system/field | Use “with” before the area of knowledge. |
| you mean fluent speech in a language | fluent in / proficient in | Do not automatically substitute “conversant with” for language fluency. |
Quick tests
Meaning / construction test
Are you saying that someone is familiar with or knowledgeable about the subject that follows?
If yes: Use “conversant with.”
If no: Use a more specific competence term if the intended meaning is different.
Caveat: Choose by the documented meaning or construction; a different pattern may be valid in a different sentence structure or variety.
Examples
Applicants should be conversant with the reporting rules.
The phrase describes familiarity with a subject.
She is conversant with the new database.
The complement is the system she knows.
The editor is conversant with accessibility guidance.
The construction marks knowledge of the field.
Further guidance
Construction
Cambridge documents “be conversant with” for having knowledge of or familiarity with a subject.
Style Boundary
Other constructions can occur, especially uses concerning command of a language, so this page does not present with as the only possible complement in every context.
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
- CONVERSANT | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary (opens in a new tab)Cambridge University Press & Assessment · Cambridge dictionary evidence for be conversant with when describing knowledge or familiarity.