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• conservative
  conservative

  adjective

  disposed to preserve existing conditions, institutions, etc., or to restore traditional ones, and to limit change.
• Conservative
  Conservative

  adjective

  of, supporting, or relating to a Conservative Party

conservative

American  

[kuhn-sur-vuh-tiv] / kənˈsɜr və tɪv /

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.

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noun

• conservatives
  plural

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 British  

/ 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. 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

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noun

1. a person who is reluctant to change or consider new ideas; conformist

2. a supporter or advocate of conservatism

adjective

1. a less common word for preservative

Conservative ² British  

/ kənˈsɜːvətɪv /

adjective

1. of, supporting, or relating to a Conservative Party

2. of, relating to, or characterizing Conservative Judaism

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noun

1. a supporter or member of a Conservative Party

conservative Cultural  

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

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• anticonservativeness
  noun
• conservativeness
  noun
• hyperconservativeness
  noun
• overconservativeness
  noun
• superconservativeness
  noun
• unconservativeness
  noun
• anticonservative
  adjective
• half-conservative
  adjective
• hyperconservative
  adjective
• nonconservative
  adjective
• overconservative
  adjective
• pseudoconservative
  adjective
• quasi-conservative
  adjective
• semiconservative
  adjective
• superconservative
  adjective
• unconservative
  adjective
• anticonservatively
  adverb
• conservatively
  adverb
• half-conservatively
  adverb
• hyperconservatively
  adverb
• overconservatively
  adverb
• pseudoconservatively
  adverb
• quasi-conservatively
  adverb
• semiconservatively
  adverb
• superconservatively
  adverb
• unconservatively
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• conservatives
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of conservative

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

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Explanation

If you are conservative, you aren’t necessarily a card-carrying member of the Republican party (though you might be); it means you resist change. Conservative has the word conserve in it, which means "to hold on to, or save." In a drought, you want to be conservative in your water use. If you don’t get paid that much and don’t want to use credit cards, you’d better be conservative with your money. And if you dress in a conservative way, you prefer traditional styles to new trends and fads.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

conservative Conservative conservatives

There’s even a controversial conservative in their midst: essayist George Schuyler, who once argued against a “Negro art,” got righteous pushback from Langston Hughes and who doesn’t seem entirely comfortable to be there.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026

Healthcare costs, inflation and some overlooked expenses could complicate even conservative estimates.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 22, 2026

While Abbas's party was originally created as part of the Islamic Movement in Israel - which has socially conservative values - he has become known for joining with Jewish partners.

From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026

For people who keep money in their Capital Group target-date funds after retiring, the glide path continues to shift to a more conservative asset mix later in retirement.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026

Dayah, Dapir and Bushra put on the most conservative headscarves they have.

From "Without Refuge" by Jane Mitchell

Andrew Coles sings in a church choir, is active in local Conservative politics and was once an undercover Metropolitan Police officer – a so-called "spy cop".

From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026

That gamble could test her leadership of the United Conservative Party, which she has led since 2022.

From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026

The PM's visit coincides with the SNP's annual party conference in Aberdeen and Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch's latest visit for an engagement in Glasgow.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

These reporters joined a Reform councillor, Alan Feeney, in Solihull, in the West Midlands, where he was campaigning to retain his seat on the council, having defected from the Conservative Party in 2025.

From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026

February 12,1994, was the deadline for registration of all parties, and on that day, Inkatha, the Conservative Party, and the Afrikaner Volksfront failed to sign.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

Binder said that she thinks some young conservatives, particularly young women, are fans of Erika Kirk.

From Salon ● Oct. 19, 2026

Near the end of the series, there’s one sweet moment of coming together between Evi’s and Vanessa’s mothers and another moment of seemingly genuine outreach by one of the town’s conservatives to King.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

"This isn't just an issue on the left, there is huge pushback among conservatives to data centres," Chloe Autio, an AI policy adviser, said.

From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026

A half-century ago, conservatives championed free markets and moral traditionalism.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026

The Populists took direct aim at the conservatives, who were known as comprising a party of privilege, and they achieved a stunning series of political victories throughout the region.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander

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Related Words

• right of center
• right-wing

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