What does "conservative" mean?
A person who favors maintenance of the status quo.
Conservative
/kənˈsɜːvətɪv/ adj, noun
adj, noun ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A person who favors maintenance of the status quo.
- Grammar: conservative is listed as adj, noun.
- Nearest alternatives: cautious, analog traditionalist, antediluvian, anti revolutionary.
- Useful contrasts: blue, overwrought, acoustic dissipation.
- Usage evidence: On the whole, the older a man grows, the more conservative he becomes.
How to use "conservative"
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Meaning check
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Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "conservative" in a final draft.
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Before you rely on this definition
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Compare nearby meanings
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Definition decision workflow
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Final meaning check
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Definitions
Noun
- 1 A person who favors maintenance of the status quo.
"During the late 1950s and throughout the 1960s, this commitment brought him into frequent critical confrontation with entrenched forms of conservative thinking (in academic areas from history and social science to the more abstract domains of ethical and political philosophy),[…]"
- 2 A member of a political party incorporating the word "Conservative" in its name.; A member of the Conservative party. British
""Avanti has literally broken records over the last six months for delays and cancellations, and the Conservatives' answer is to reward failure with millions more in taxpayer cash," said Labour Shadow Transport Secretary Louise Haigh."
- 3 a person who is reluctant to accept changes and new ideas wordnet
- 4 One who seeks to promote or preserve traditional values or institutions.
"If there’s a down side to the film, it’s that “Soros” probably doesn’t devote enough time to the way its subject has become a favorite bogeyman to conservatives that paint him as the guiding hand behind grassroots campaigns by those intent on discrediting them."
- 5 A member of a political party incorporating the word "Conservative" in its name.; A member or supporter of the Conservative Party of Canada, or its predecessors, or provincial equivalents, or their predecessors Canada
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 a member of a Conservative Party wordnet
- 7 One who seeks to promote traditions in a particular domain (e.g. a fiscal conservative or a social conservative). Canada, US, especially
- 8 pertaining to Conservative Judaism Judaism
Adjective
- 1 Cautious, moderate.
"The chef added a conservative amount of salt to the dish."
- 2 Tending to resist change or innovation.
"The curriculum committee at this university is extremely conservative."
- 3 Based on pessimistic assumptions, and on the low side.
"At a conservative estimate, growth may even be negative next year."
- 4 Supporting some combination of fiscal, political or social conservatism. Canada, US
"Newspapers in "capitalist" ownership, universities presided over by "reactionary" governing bodies, broadcasting systems owned by conservative governments have all been known to influence public opinion in the direction of socialism, because this was the conviction of the personnel."
- 5 Relating to the Conservative Party. British
"We have always been conscientiously attached to what is called the Tory, and which might with more propriety be called the Conservative, party."
Show 7 more definitions
- 6 Neither creating nor destroying a given quantity. not-comparable
- 7 Having power to preserve in a safe or entire state, or from loss, waste, or injury; preservative.
"Without the conservative organs, the body would receive no nourishment; and without nourishment, it would soon decay and perish."
- 8 Relating to Conservative Judaism. Judaism
- 9 Conventional, traditional, and moderate in style and appearance; not extreme, excessive, faddish, or intense.
- 10 Not including any operation or intervention (said of a treatment, see conservative treatment)
"Operative treatment should be reserved for those patients in whom conservative treatment has failed and who are motivated with regard to sports."
- 11 Having few changes relative to an older form, especially in comparison to related varieties.
"While innovative in its verbal system, Sardinian is the most conservative Romance language in its vocabulary and phonology."
- 12 That is the gradient of a function.
Adjective
- 1 conforming to the standards and conventions of the middle class wordnet
- 2 resistant to change, particularly in relation to politics or religion wordnet
- 3 unimaginatively conventional wordnet
- 4 avoiding excess wordnet
- 5 having social or political views favoring conservatism wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"On the whole, the older a man grows, the more conservative he becomes."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "conservative"?
Common synonyms include: cautious, analog traditionalist, antediluvian, anti revolutionary, antique, antirevolutionary.
How do you use "conservative" in a sentence?
On the whole, the older a man grows, the more conservative he becomes.
How do you pronounce "conservative"?
Pronounced /kənˈsɜːvətɪv/.
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French conservatif, from Latin cōnservō (“to preserve”). Equivalent to conserve + -ative.