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conventional

[kuh n-ven-shuh-nl]
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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.
  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.
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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

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1. See formal1. 2. usual, habitual, customary.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for conventionalist

Historical Examples

  • He would have been a conventionalist and epicurean, unless he had been a seer.

    The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 16, No. 96, October 1865

    Various

  • You're only a conventionalist, like everybody else—you're not a moralist.

    Sally Bishop

    E. Temple Thurston

  • Sometimes, they force the re-baptism of infants by the conventionalist cur, and shoot at the traditional father.

  • It was evident John Grier's act was thought by the conventionalist to be a wicked blunder.

  • Romme (brother of the Conventionalist, principal author of the Calendar) laid the foundations of our very important science.

    The Sea

    Jules Michelet

British Dictionary definitions for conventionalist

conventional

adjective
  1. following the accepted customs and proprieties, esp in a way that lacks originalityconventional 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
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noun
  1. bridge another word for convention (def. 7)
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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 conventionalist

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