conventional
[kuh n-ven-shuh-nl]
- conforming or adhering to accepted standards, as of conduct or taste: conventional behavior.
- pertaining to convention or general agreement; established by general consent or accepted usage; arbitrarily determined: conventional symbols.
- ordinary rather than different or original: conventional phraseology.
- not using, making, or involving nuclear weapons or energy; nonnuclear: conventional warfare.
- Art.
- in accordance with an accepted manner, model, or tradition.
- (of figurative art) represented in a generalized or simplified manner.
- of or relating to a convention, agreement, or compact.
- Law. resting on consent, express or implied.
- of or relating to a convention or assembly.
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Origin of conventional
Synonyms
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
traditionalcurrentordinaryregulartypicalrigidacceptedaccustomedcommonplacecorrectcustomarydecorouseverydayexpectedfashionableformalgeneralhabitualorthodoxplainExamples from the Web for conventional
Contemporary Examples
Many Jewish women have been accepted as conventional, mainstream hot.
The end of conventional childbirth might only be a matter of time.
They double down on the plot device of a lone visionary opposed by conventional hierarchies.
Enter the iSpoon, a conventional stirrer on one end and a tablet stylus on the other.
The Daily Beast’s 2014 Holiday Gift Guide: For the Richard Hendriks in Your LifeAllison McNearney
November 29, 2014
Conventional wisdom holds that most excessive drinkers are alcohol dependent.
Historical Examples
She smiled rather painfully, with an obvious effort to be conventional.
The SpendersHarry Leon Wilson
"But you know language is conventional, especially in gallantry," said Russell.
Tales And Novels, Volume 5 (of 10)Maria Edgeworth
Verily there are strange contradictions in our conventional morality.
The Works of Whittier, Volume V (of VII)John Greenleaf Whittier
The soul has its conventional pose when the eyes of the street are upon it.
The Hunted OutlawAnonymous
He liked their rounded sentences, and caught their conventional phrases.
The Letters of Robert BurnsRobert Burns
conventional
- following the accepted customs and proprieties, esp in a way that lacks originalityconventional habits
- established by accepted usage or general agreement
- of or relating to a convention or assembly
- law based upon the agreement or consent of parties
- arts represented in a simplified or generalized way; conventionalized
- (of weapons, warfare, etc) not nuclear
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- bridge another word for convention (def. 7)
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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
Word Origin and History for conventional
adj.
late 15c., "of the nature of an agreement," from Late Latin conventionalis "pertaining to convention or agreement," from Latin conventionem (see convention). Meaning "of the nature of a convention" is from 1812, now rare; "established by social convention" is from 1761; that of "following tradition" is from 1831; that of "non-nuclear" is from 1955. Realted: Conventionality; conventionally.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper