neoconservative

American  

[nee-oh-kuhn-sur-vuh-tiv] / ˌni oʊ kənˈsɜr və tɪv /

adjective

1. being or relating to a faction of the conservative political movement that heavily supports the promotion of democracy abroad through military intervention.

   Neoconservative pundits have heavily supported the bill.

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noun

1. a person who is politically conservative and heavily supports the promotion of democracy abroad through military intervention.

   He's a longstanding neoconservative whose political columns have been highly influential.

Etymology

Origin of neoconservative

First recorded in 1880–85; neo- ( def. ) + conservative ( def. )

Example Sentences

Mr. Carlson has come a long way since the bow-tied folly of his neoconservative youth.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 31, 2025

He later served as vice chairman for the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, a Washington-based neoconservative think tank.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2025

Brooks agreed with me about that much, even though he was writing for the neoconservative Weekly Standard magazine and I for the democratic-socialist magazine Dissent.

From Salon • Nov. 10, 2024

Once identified among the intelligentsia as a “reformicon” hoping to shift a neoconservative GOP toward a pro-working-class direction, Salam had long curried liberal affection as “literary Brooklyn’s favorite conservative.”

From Slate • Sep. 25, 2024

Early in the Reagan administration, his friend and fellow neoconservative Paul Wolfowitz hired him at the State Department’s Office of Policy Planning.

From New York Times • May 10, 2022