conventional

[kuh n-ven-shuh-nl]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR conventional ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

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.

Origin of conventional

From the Late Latin word conventiōnālis, dating back to 1575–85. See convention, -al¹

Related formscon·ven·tion·al·ist, nouncon·ven·tion·al·ly, adverban·ti·con·ven·tion·al, adjectivean·ti·con·ven·tion·al·ly, adverban·ti·con·ven·tion·al·ist, noun, adjectivenon·con·ven·tion·al, adjectivenon·con·ven·tion·al·ly, adverbqua·si-con·ven·tion·al, adjectivequa·si-con·ven·tion·al·ly, adverbsem·i·con·ven·tion·al, adjectivesem·i·con·ven·tion·al·ly, adverb

Synonyms for conventional

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR conventional ON THESAURUS.COM

1. See formal¹. 2. usual, habitual, customary.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for conventional

traditional, current, ordinary, regular, typical, rigid, accepted, accustomed, commonplace, correct, customary, decorous, everyday, expected, fashionable, formal, general, habitual, orthodox, plain

Examples from the Web for conventional

Contemporary Examples of conventional

Many Jewish women have been accepted as conventional, mainstream hot.
Why Was Bess Myerson the First and Last Jewish Miss America?
Emily Shire
January 7, 2015
The end of conventional childbirth might only be a matter of time.
Men Will Someday Have Kids Without Women
Samantha Allen
January 3, 2015
They double down on the plot device of a lone visionary opposed by conventional hierarchies.
Why Can’t Movies Capture Genius?
Clive Irving
December 14, 2014
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 Life
Allison McNearney
November 29, 2014
Conventional wisdom holds that most excessive drinkers are alcohol dependent.
Americans Drink Too Much, But We’re Not All Alcoholics
Gabrielle Glaser
November 25, 2014

Historical Examples of conventional

She smiled rather painfully, with an obvious effort to be conventional.
The Spenders
Harry 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 Outlaw
Anonymous
He liked their rounded sentences, and caught their conventional phrases.
The Letters of Robert Burns
Robert Burns

British Dictionary definitions for conventional

conventional

adjective

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

noun

bridge another word for convention (def. 7)

Derived Formsconventionally, adverb

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.