conformity
action in accord with prevailing social standards, attitudes, practices, etc.
correspondence in form, nature, or character; agreement, congruity, or accordance.
compliance or acquiescence; obedience.
(often initial capital letter) compliance with the usages of an established church, especially the Church of England.
Geology. the relationship between adjacent conformable strata.: Compare unconformity (def. 2a).
Origin of conformity
1Other words from conformity
- an·ti·con·form·i·ty, noun, plural an·ti·con·form·i·ties.
- hy·per·con·form·i·ty, noun
- pre·con·form·i·ty, noun
- sem·i·con·form·i·ty, noun
- su·per·con·form·i·ty, noun
Words Nearby conformity
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use conformity in a sentence
To Carlson, objectivity is conformity, and conformity is cowardice.
Talking With Tucker Carlson, the Most Powerful Conservative in America | Charlotte Alter | July 15, 2021 | TimeTo move up through the ranks in law enforcement, a certain amount of conformity and unwillingness to rock the boat is required.
We’re Asking the Wrong Question About Police Chief Candidates | Roddrick Colvin | April 14, 2021 | Voice of San DiegoShe wears a uniform without it becoming a statement of conformity.
It’s important to think carefully about the message, because there’s more than one type of conformity.
How we can encourage people to wear masks — for others’ sake | Shai Davidai | December 24, 2020 | VoxThey should emphasize that sometimes conformity takes courage.
How we can encourage people to wear masks — for others’ sake | Shai Davidai | December 24, 2020 | Vox
Ginsberg the ad man beats back against the conformity of the computer and is swallowed whole.
Mad Men’s ‘The Runaways’: Three-Way Sex and Self-Mutilation in the Craziest Episode Yet | Marlow Stern | May 12, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST(See also this excellent article by Dr. Eric Grollman about gender conformity & gender non-conformity).
What Each of Facebook’s 51 New Gender Options Means | Debby Herbenick PhD, Aleta Baldwin | February 15, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTFuneral was about childhood and death; Neon Bible was about organized religion; The Suburbs was about community and conformity.
‘Reflektor’ Makes Arcade Fire the Biggest Band in the World | Andrew Romano | October 29, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTThe most striking thing about the latter, after all, is its monolithic conformity.
The playground, especially among little boys, is a place of cowardice and conformity.
By a “single” or “one reading,” I mean a single careful perusal in conformity to the requirements of my System.
Assimilative Memory | Marcus Dwight Larrowe (AKA Prof. A. Loisette)So that in conformity every Man may take great comfort in himself, and all Mankind live well with one another.
An Account of the Growth of Deism in England | William StephensThere was much to be said about occasional conformity, about toleration, about the relation between Church and State.
The English Church in the Eighteenth Century | Charles J. Abbey and John H. OvertonHe pushed his conformity to what he considered the usages of the Primitive Church to the verge of eccentricity.
The English Church in the Eighteenth Century | Charles J. Abbey and John H. OvertonThis was most probably, in many instances a mere unthinking conformity to ancient use and wont.
The Catacombs of Rome | William Henry Withrow
British Dictionary definitions for conformity
conformance
/ (kənˈfɔːmɪtɪ) /
compliance in actions, behaviour, etc, with certain accepted standards or norms
correspondence or likeness in form or appearance; congruity; agreement
compliance with the practices of an established church
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Cultural definitions for conformity
Agreement between an individual's behavior and a group's standards or expectations. A conformist is one who follows the majority's desires or standards. (See also beatniks, bureaucrat, organization man (see also organization man), peer group, and peer pressure.)
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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