conservative

[ kuhn-sur-vuh-tiv ]

adjective

1. disposed to preserve existing conditions, institutions, etc., or to restore traditional ones, and to limit change.
2. cautiously moderate or purposefully low:

   a conservative estimate.

3. traditional in style or manner; avoiding novelty or showiness:

   conservative suit.

4. (often initial capital letter) of or relating to the Conservative party.
5. (initial capital letter) of, relating to, or characteristic of Conservative Jews or Conservative Judaism.
6. having the power or tendency to conserve or preserve.
7. Mathematics. (of a vector or vector function) having curl equal to zero; irrotational; lamellar.

noun

1. a person who is conservative in principles, actions, habits, etc.
2. a supporter of conservative political policies.
3. (initial capital letter) a member of a conservative political party, especially the Conservative party in Great Britain.
4. a preservative.

Conservative

¹

/ kənˈsɜːvətɪv /

adjective

1. of, supporting, or relating to a Conservative Party
2. of, relating to, or characterizing Conservative Judaism

noun

1. a supporter or member of a Conservative Party

conservative

²

/ kənˈsɜːvətɪv /

adjective

1. favouring the preservation of established customs, values, etc, and opposing innovation
2. of, characteristic of, or relating to conservatism
3. tending to be moderate or cautious

   a conservative estimate

4. conventional in style or type

   a conservative suit

5. See radical
   med (of treatment) designed to alleviate symptoms Compare radical
6. physics a field of force, system, etc, in which the work done moving a body from one point to another is independent of the path taken between them

   electrostatic fields of force are conservative

noun

1. a person who is reluctant to change or consider new ideas; conformist
2. a supporter or advocate of conservatism

adjective

1. See preservative
   a less common word for preservative

conservative

1. A descriptive term for persons, policies, and beliefs associated with conservatism .

Derived Forms

• conˈservatively, adverb
• conˈservativeness, noun

Other Words From

• con·serva·tive·ly adverb
• con·serva·tive·ness noun
• anti·con·serva·tive adjective noun
• anti·con·serva·tive·ly adverb
• anti·con·serva·tive·ness noun
• half-con·serva·tive adjective
• half-con·serva·tive·ly adverb
• hyper·con·serva·tive adjective noun
• hyper·con·serva·tive·ly adverb
• hyper·con·serva·tive·ness noun
• noncon·serva·tive adjective noun
• over·con·serva·tive adjective
• over·con·serva·tive·ly adverb
• over·con·serva·tive·ness noun
• pseudo·con·serva·tive adjective
• pseudo·con·serva·tive·ly adverb
• quasi-con·serva·tive adjective
• quasi-con·serva·tive·ly adverb
• semi·con·serva·tive adjective
• semi·con·serva·tive·ly adverb
• super·con·serva·tive adjective
• super·con·serva·tive·ly adverb
• super·con·serva·tive·ness noun
• uncon·serva·tive adjective
• uncon·serva·tive·ly adverb
• uncon·serva·tive·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of conservative¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; from Late Latin conservātīvus, equivalent to Latin conservāt(us) ( conservation ) + -īvus -ive; replacing Middle English conservatif, from Middle French, from Latin, as above

Example Sentences

Liberals say things that are way out there, and conservatives say things that are sometimes way out there, or don’t have enough evidence.

From Washington Post

David Graff, Senior Director, Trust & Safety at Google, said around the elections specifically but also around some other areas, Google is going to take a more conservative approach with what suggestions it shows in auto-complete.

From Search Engine Land

The thinking was the South Bronx was too conservative to elect an LGBTQ person…Not only did I win, but I won so decisively that it sent Ruben Diaz Sr.

From Washington Blade

What conservative parents who opposed this are arguing is to rewrite history and we are arguing to teach history as it happened.

From Washington Blade

In fact, there’s scant evidence of systematic anti-right bias by social-media platforms, according to two analyses by The Economist and a third by a researcher at the conservative American Enterprise Institute.

From MIT Technology Review

Plus the GOP electorate has become more conservative since 2008.

From The Daily Beast

That Huckabee is mentioned in the same sentence with other aspiring conservative governors, especially Bobby Jindal, is laughable.

From The Daily Beast

A hundred ultra-wealthy liberal and conservative donors have taken over the political system.

From The Daily Beast

A colleague overheard two conservative Mass. lawmakers talking about what “the gays” could do.

From The Daily Beast

The disbelief was evident in article after article, with one conservative site using “President Pinocchio” in its headline.

From The Daily Beast

The conservative senate sent a deputation to Bonaparte, expressing their desire that he would accept the title of emperor.

From Project Gutenberg

The man called Shiv was driving Delancy's get-away car at a conservative pace so as not to excite suspicion.

From Project Gutenberg

Who was it but its founder, that led the Conservative party through these successive stages of triumph?

From Project Gutenberg

It was one of the conservative sheets, comic-less, reactionary Republican to the core.

From Project Gutenberg

In politics he took the Conservative side, but as regards music he was probably the most advanced radical in Moscow.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• right of center
• right-wing