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Synonyms

conventional

American  
[kuhn-ven-shuh-nl] / kənˈvɛn ʃə 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 British  
/ 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

"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

noun

  1. bridge another word for convention

"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

Related Words

See formal 1.

Other Word Forms

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

Etymology

Origin of conventional

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

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

If the conventional wisdom was indeed the original meaning, its defenders should be able to identify members of the enacting coalition who said so.

From The Wall Street Journal

The decision to pick Bradley was a conventional one.

From Los Angeles Times

The ship and three others still under construction are smaller than CalMac's last new vessel, the dual-fuel Glen Sannox, and use a conventional diesel-electric propulsion system with some battery power available while manoeuvring.

From BBC

Unlike conventional storage systems, these ceramic data carriers can remain intact indefinitely and do not require any energy to maintain the stored information.

From Science Daily

Backed by Bill Gates’s Breakthrough Energy and venture-capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, among others, KoBold says machine learning allows it to collect and analyze more sophisticated data about deposits than conventional exploration methods.

From The Wall Street Journal