conventional

American  

[kuhn-ven-shuh-nl] / kənˈvɛn ʃə nl /

adjective

1. conforming or adhering to accepted standards, as of conduct or taste.

   conventional behavior.

2. pertaining to convention or general agreement; established by general consent or accepted usage; arbitrarily determined.

   conventional symbols.

   Synonyms:

   customary, habitual, usual

3. ordinary rather than different or original.

   conventional phraseology.

4. not using, making, or involving nuclear weapons or energy; nonnuclear.

   conventional warfare.

5. Art.

   1. in accordance with an accepted manner, model, or tradition.

   2. (of figurative art) represented in a generalized or simplified manner.

6. of or relating to a convention, agreement, or compact.

7. Law. resting on consent, express or implied.

8. of or relating to a convention or assembly.

---

conventional British  

/ kənˈvɛnʃənəl /

adjective

1. following the accepted customs and proprieties, esp in a way that lacks originality

   conventional habits

2. established by accepted usage or general agreement

3. of or relating to a convention or assembly

4. law based upon the agreement or consent of parties

5. arts represented in a simplified or generalized way; conventionalized

6. (of weapons, warfare, etc) not nuclear

---

noun

1. bridge another word for convention

Synonym Usage

See formal ¹.

Other Word Forms

• anticonventionalist
  noun
• conventionalist
  noun
• anticonventional
  adjective
• nonconventional
  adjective
• quasi-conventional
  adjective
• semiconventional
  adjective
• anticonventionally
  adverb
• conventionally
  adverb
• nonconventionally
  adverb
• quasi-conventionally
  adverb
• semiconventionally
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of conventional

From the Late Latin word conventiōnālis, dating back to 1575–85. See convention, -al ¹

Explanation

Conventional is an adjective for things that are normal, ordinary, and following the accepted way. Ho-hum. This word describes what is typical and ordinary and that which follows accepted standards of behavior or taste. This is a word that's current definition is still very similar to its Latin root, conventionalis, which is "pertaining to an agreement." One way this word is used is with respect to conventional weapons, as in those "not using, making, or involving nuclear weapons or energy; nonnuclear."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

conventional

Meanwhile, TGA remained the organism's only conventional stop codon.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 8, 2026

Its formless body accommodated slouching, lounging or lying down, selling freedom from both conventional posture and the bourgeois living room.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026

Macdonald says these have been used in the war in Ukraine, where satellite imagery can provide intelligence - for example, spotting a Russian vessel in a Crimean port - when conventional optical cameras cannot.

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

Because these materials can be formed into atomically thin layers, researchers are exploring whether they could enable memory technologies that differ from those built with conventional magnetic materials.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 2, 2026

Here are a few other agreement errors that have appeared in print:8 The readiness of our conventional forces are at an all-time low.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker

Related Words

• current
• ordinary
• regular
• traditional
• typical