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.
of, supporting, or relating to a Conservative Party
of, relating to, or characterizing Conservative Judaism
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
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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In politics former Conservative MP David Gauke is knighted for services to the justice system after carrying out an independent review of sentencing.
From BBC • Jun. 12, 2026
Hilton had had an unusual political journey, from architect of the UK Conservative Party's "Big Society" agenda under former Prime Minister Cameron to an early supporter of Trump in 2015.
From BBC • Jun. 12, 2026
As a former political advisor to Britain’s Conservative Party, Hilton helped usher in a green, socially liberal strain of conservatism.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 9, 2026
Winstanley said he was "born and bred" in the area, and wanted to "put a clear Conservative view forward… between now and polling day".
From BBC • Jun. 8, 2026
His attitude was so just that it allowed him to hope even for the support of former Conservative combatants.
From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
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.
