tête-à-tête 1 of 2

adverb

ˌtet-ə-ˈtet How to pronounce tête-à-tête (audio)
Definition of tête-à-têtenext
as in personally
in person and usually privately met tête-à-tête with the student's parents to discuss his disciplinary problems in class

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

tête-à-tête

2 of 2

noun

ˌtet-ə-ˈtet How to pronounce tête-à-tête (audio)
as in chat
friendly, informal conversation or an instance of this had a quick tête-à-tête with my neighbor before heading off to work

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of tête-à-tête
Noun
Told mostly through dialogue, Konfidenz is an intensely psychological tete-a-tete about a woman who receives a phone call from a stranger claiming to be her friend, but soon is revealed to have intimate and dangerous knowledge about her life. — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 Jan. 2026 Social outings, sports events and fun activities with kids plus romantic tete-a-tetes are tops on your menu. — Georgia Nicols, Denver Post, 5 Jan. 2026 Texas' initial redistricting saga launched a national tete-a-tete, inspiring other states to redraw their own maps. — Brittany Shepherd, ABC News, 3 Dec. 2025 Later, there is caper-like comedy at a funeral home, which then sobers in a poignant tete-a-tete between Yun-ji and Min-yeong, astute revelations of the broken homes that shaped our young heroines, a climactic riot of slapstick destruction at an emergency school meeting and more. — Dennis Harvey, Variety, 22 Sep. 2025 Another video captured Xi, Modi and Putin engaging in a lighthearted tete-a-tete on the Summit’s sidelines. — Kate Nishimura, Sourcing Journal, 2 Sep. 2025 Aside from that tete-a-tete, there was some superb quality on show. — Beren Cross, New York Times, 28 July 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tête-à-tête
  1. personally
  2. chat
  3. talk
Adverb
  • She gets personally involved as a board member, mentor and even front-line volunteer.
    — Scott Maxwell, The Orlando Sentinel, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Coulter has made that pledge personally in the past, but is expected to leave his position before the end of the year, which Bean noted in her comments.
    — Joseph Flaherty, Arkansas Online, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of personally
Noun
  • But then Sandy stops by for a friendly chat, and his daughter Nina (Zosia Mamet, ice-cold and slightly underused) gets serious.
    — Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 2 Sep. 2026
  • If a group chat has become a swamp of half-answers and reaction icons, step in with a quick summary.
    — Tarot.com, Baltimore Sun, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of chat
Noun
  • Former mayor Harry Sidhu went to prison on corruption charges, and the two parties never re-engaged on talks.
    — Sam Blum, New York Times, 2 Sep. 2026
  • TickTalkie™ adds instant push-to-talk communication over LTE, with support for watch-to-watch, multi-user, and multi-channel conversations.
    — Jon Stojan, USA Today, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of talk

Browse Nearby Words

tetchy
tête-à-tête
tête-à-têtes
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Tête-à-tête.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/t%C3%AAte-%C3%A0-t%C3%AAte. Accessed 4 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of apiary

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

A List of Most Commonly Confused Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 4
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
anagrams on a chalk board
Word Builder Quiz Vol. 2 Pick the letter that when added to a word will ma...
See All