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. 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

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

/ 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

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

Other Word Forms

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

Instead, she moved forward in Alexandria, near where her office is located, unconcerned that a potentially less conservative pool of jurors might reject her, people familiar with her thinking said.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

I’ve been writing for some time that it’s an odd thing for liberals and progressives to suddenly find themselves acting as conservatives.

Read more on Salon

More recently, the president called for the rapid trial and execution of the alleged killer of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

But Qatar has also been a bane of American conservatives because of its history in hosting Hamas’s political leadership and its support for other Islamist groups.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

In the late 1990s and early aughts, the conservative Parents Television Council struck fear in the hearts of network TV executives for its high-profile campaigns against shows it deemed too raunchy.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• right of center 
• right-wing