disposed to preserve existing conditions, institutions, etc., or to restore traditional ones, and to limit change.
cautiously moderate or purposefully low.
a conservative estimate.
traditional in style or manner; avoiding novelty or showiness.
conservative suit.
(often initial capital letter) of or relating to the Conservative party.
(initial capital letter) of, relating to, or characteristic of Conservative Jews or Conservative Judaism.
having the power or tendency to conserve or preserve.
Mathematics. (of a vector or vector function) having curl equal to zero; irrotational; lamellar.
a person who is conservative in principles, actions, habits, etc.
a supporter of conservative political policies.
(initial capital letter) a member of a conservative political party, especially the Conservative party in Great Britain.
a preservative.
favouring the preservation of established customs, values, etc, and opposing innovation
of, characteristic of, or relating to conservatism
tending to be moderate or cautious
a conservative estimate
conventional in style or type
a conservative suit
med (of treatment) designed to alleviate symptoms Compare radical
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
a person who is reluctant to change or consider new ideas; conformist
a supporter or advocate of conservatism
of, supporting, or relating to a Conservative Party
of, relating to, or characterizing Conservative Judaism
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
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.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He inherited a modest fortune and quickly emerged as the leader of the city’s conservative business establishment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
"Instead, we are likely to see a conservative outlook from the Federal Reserve when it meets in a fortnight," she added.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
The politician became a household name in the 1990s due to her socially conservative views that put her on the right of the Tories.
From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026
Graham’s support for the latter earned him the nickname “Lindsey Grahamnesty” from conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh.
From Salon ● Jul. 13, 2026
But conservative though we were, it was true that Mama had never had anything even as bright as my deep maroon dress or Betsie’s dark blue one.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
“Changing prime minister is not a silver bullet” said Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the opposition Conservative Party.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
Conservative MP Grant shared the letter in which she called Widdecombe "a formidable Parliamentarian" and a "committed public servant" who had "diligently served her communities for 23 years".
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
Badenoch paid tribute to the former Conservative minister as a woman of "high principle" with a "wicked sense of humour".
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
Counter-terrorism police have said the former Conservative MP was killed in a "targeted attack".
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
Although he was convinced at that time of the urgency of liquidating the Conservative regime, the plot horrified him.
From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
A unifying cultural figure beloved by both liberals and conservatives, Stapleton was the headlining act at a Fourth of July benefit concert that also featured Smashing Pumpkins, Chaka Khan, Maren Morris and Queen Latifah.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 5, 2026
Published in May, the Johns Hopkins Agora Institute and ReD Associates conducted an in-depth research of conservatives in three red counties in Michigan, South Carolina and Wyoming.
From Salon ● Jul. 5, 2026
Justice Elena Kagan, who was joined by the two other liberals on the court and three conservatives, wrote the majority opinion.
From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026
Murphy lays out a provocative agenda for Democrats to call Americans to national service, break up corporate power, rebuild local communities, and create a bigger tent that reaches disaffected conservatives hungry for change.
From Slate ● Jun. 25, 2026
“The liberals and the conservatives are both right in a sense,” McLanahan said.
From "Class Matters" by The New York Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
