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.

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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

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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

They ended up trading concrete and a conventional lawn for Chateau Chaparral, a native garden anchored by drought-tolerant plants.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026

Flying lower means less spray drift and therefore less chemicals are needed than in conventional manned crop-dusting, he says.

From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026

Scientists at the University at Buffalo have developed an injectable hydrogel designed to keep osteoarthritis treatments inside the joint for much longer than conventional injections.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 31, 2026

Now, chemists at the University of Chicago and Argonne National Laboratory have developed a method for creating nanocrystals from metal nitrides, a technologically important group of materials that had resisted conventional nanocrystal synthesis.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 30, 2026

Blue stars are hot and young; yellow stars, conventional and middle-aged; red stars, often elderly and dying; and small white or black stars are in the final throes of death.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

Related Words

• current
• ordinary
• regular
• traditional
• typical