conventional

[kuhn-ven-shuh-nl]

adjective

1. conforming or adhering to accepted standards, as of conduct or taste.

   conventional behavior.

2. pertaining to convention or general agreement; established by general consent or accepted usage; arbitrarily determined.

   conventional symbols.

   Synonyms: customary, habitual, usual

3. ordinary rather than different or original.

   conventional phraseology.

4. not using, making, or involving nuclear weapons or energy; nonnuclear.

   conventional warfare.

5. Art.

   1. in accordance with an accepted manner, model, or tradition.

   2. (of figurative art) represented in a generalized or simplified manner.

6. of or relating to a convention, agreement, or compact.

7. Law.,  resting on consent, express or implied.

8. of or relating to a convention or assembly.

conventional

/ kənˈvɛnʃənəl /

adjective

1. following the accepted customs and proprieties, esp in a way that lacks originality

   conventional habits

2. established by accepted usage or general agreement

3. of or relating to a convention or assembly

4. law based upon the agreement or consent of parties

5. arts represented in a simplified or generalized way; conventionalized

6. (of weapons, warfare, etc) not nuclear

noun

1. bridge another word for convention

Other Word Forms

• conventionally adverb
• conventionalist noun
• anticonventional adjective
• anticonventionally adverb
• anticonventionalist noun
• nonconventional adjective
• nonconventionally adverb
• quasi-conventional adjective
• quasi-conventionally adverb
• semiconventional adjective
• semiconventionally adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of conventional¹

From the Late Latin word conventiōnālis, dating back to 1575–85. See convention, -al ¹

Synonym Study

See formal ¹.

Example Sentences

"The security network, comprising the conventional security agencies and the local security architecture are currently doing what they should do," he told the BBC.

Read more on BBC

He ruled out the likelihood of the symptoms being caused by more conventional crowd control measures, such as CS gas, which was also being deployed by Georgia's riot police last year.

Read more on BBC

It’s a notable constrast with his immediate predecessor’s far more conventional behavior.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Dubbed Peru's first poor president, Castillo, a former trade unionist and rural schoolteacher, won power in 2021 on a wave of frustration with conventional politics.

Read more on BBC

Berlin, which aims to have the strongest conventional army in Europe, is open to making the system mandatory if recruitment targets aren’t met.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• current 
• ordinary 
• regular 
• traditional 
• typical