Basic Details
Word: Dialogue
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: The conversation between characters in a book, play or film; also formal talks between two groups trying to settle something.
Synonyms: conversation, discussion, talk, exchange
Antonyms: monologue
Word origin: From Greek dialogos, conversation, from dia, across, and legein, to speak.
How to Spell Dialogue
Syllables: di - a - logue
Tricky part: In British English the word ends in ogue, with a silent ue after the g. Students write dialoge or dialouge.
Watch out for: dialoge, dialouge, dailogue
Memory tip: It ends exactly like catalogue and monologue, with a silent ue tucked after the g.
Usage Examples
Example 1: We had to learn our dialogue for the school play by Monday.
Example 2: The two countries agreed to begin a dialogue about sharing river water.
Example 3: The best scenes in the film have almost no dialogue at all.
Fun Fact
The di in dialogue does not mean two. It comes from Greek dia, across or between, so a dialogue can have three or more speakers.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word dialogue as used in the sentence:
The play opens with a long dialogue between two brothers waiting on a railway platform.
a) conversation
b) monologue
c) discussion
d) chat
Show answer
b) monologue. A monologue is one person speaking alone, while the other three words all involve two or more people talking.
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
diallogue
a) l
b) a
c) g
d) u
Show answer
a) l. Dialogue has one l, the same as in catalogue.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the letters in the sentence to form a meaningful word:
The film's guadeloi was so sharp that people kept quoting lines for weeks.
a) dialogue
b) epilogue
c) analogue
d) dialect
Show answer
a) dialogue. Analogue needs an n, epilogue needs a p and dialect needs a c and a t, none of which the jumble has.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. In a story, dialogue is usually shown ____.
a) in the list of contents
b) on the back cover
c) inside quotation marks
d) in the page numbers
Show answer
c) inside quotation marks
2. Two neighbours who start a dialogue about a noisy dog are ____.
a) moving house
b) buying a new dog
c) talking it over
d) calling the police
Show answer
c) talking it over
