interlocutor
Person you address
An interlocutor is someone who participates in a conversation or dialogue, particularly in formal or structured exchanges.
The term often appears in diplomatic, academic, or professional contexts to describe a person with whom one is negotiating or discussing matters: The ambassador served as our primary interlocutor with the foreign ministry.
In minstrel shows, the interlocutor was the middle man who engaged in comic exchanges with the end men, though this usage is largely historical.
Skilled speaker in dialogue
- discussantOne who talks things over
- dialogistConversation composer
- speakerOne who talks
- listenerOne who attends aurally
addressee · respondent · communicator · counterpart · partner · correspondent · talker · recipient
One who acts for another
- mouthpieceOne who speaks officially
- advocatePublic cause supporter
- spokesmanDesignated organizational voice
- spokeswomanFemale official communicator
press secretary · publicist · announcer · herald · voice · orator · communicator · narrator
Agent connecting separate parties
- liaisonConnector between groups
- facilitatorNeutral process guide
- brokerTransaction intermediary for hire
- mediatorNeutral conflict resolver
negotiator · representative · envoy · emissary · channel · conduit · middleman · ambassador
One who poses inquiries
- interrogatorOne who questions formally
- examinerOne who evaluates officially
- inquirerOne who seeks information
- hostOne receiving guests
moderator · journalist · reporter · investigator · prober · cross-examiner · inquisitor
Mutual giving and receiving
- discourseFormal communication on subjects
- conversationExchange of spoken ideas
- parleyDiscussion between opposing sides
- chatInformal verbal exchange
discussion · talk · banter · confabulation · tête-à-tête · back-and-forth · rapport · repartee
One who contends against
- adversaryEnemy in conflict
- challengerOne competing against incumbent
- disputantOne who argues
- arguerOne who debates
contender · antagonist · rival · debater · polemicist · dialectician · cross-examiner · rebutter
conversationalist
Skilled speaker in dialogue
- discussantOne who talks things over
- dialogistConversation composer
- speakerOne who talks
listener · addressee · respondent · communicator · counterpart · partner · correspondent · talker · recipient · raconteur
representative
One who acts for another
- mouthpieceOne who speaks officially
- advocatePublic cause supporter
- spokesmanDesignated organizational voice
spokeswoman · press secretary · publicist · announcer · herald · voice · orator · communicator · narrator · commentator
go-between
Agent connecting separate parties
- liaisonConnector between groups
- facilitatorNeutral process guide
- brokerTransaction intermediary for hire
mediator · negotiator · representative · envoy · emissary · channel · conduit · middleman · ambassador · proxy
questioner
One who poses inquiries
- interrogatorOne who questions formally
- examinerOne who evaluates officially
- inquirerOne who seeks information
host · moderator · journalist · reporter · investigator · prober · cross-examiner · inquisitor
exchange
Mutual giving and receiving
- discourseFormal communication on subjects
- conversationExchange of spoken ideas
- parleyDiscussion between opposing sides
chat · discussion · talk · banter · confabulation · tête-à-tête · back-and-forth · rapport · repartee · crosstalk
opponent
One who contends against
- adversaryEnemy in conflict
- challengerOne competing against incumbent
- disputantOne who argues
arguer · contender · antagonist · rival · debater · polemicist · dialectician · cross-examiner · rebutter · proposer
- appealsappeal, appellate court, court rulings, case law, legal precedents
- classical dialogueSocratic dialogue, dialectic, Symposium, Republic, Cicero
- dialecticsdialectic, dialectics, Socratic method, Socratic dialogue, thesis
- Scots Lawpursuer, defender, advocates, advocate, solicitors
- Scottish courtssheriff, circuit courts, district courts, criminal jurisdiction, civil procedure
- Socratic DialoguesPlato, Socrates, Symposium, Republic, Socratic method
interlocutormonologist
Solo theatrical speaker
soliloquist · lecturer · orator · preacher · speechmaker