Jump To:

• Tory
  Tory

  noun

  a member of the Conservative Party in Great Britain or Canada.
• -tory
  -tory

  a suffix occurring in loanwords from Latin, originally adjectival derivatives of agent nouns ending in -tor (predatory ); also forming adjectival derivatives directly from verbs (obligatory; transitory ).

Tory

¹ American  

[tawr-ee, tohr-ee] / ˈtɔr i, ˈtoʊr i /

noun

• Tories
  plural

1. a member of the Conservative Party in Great Britain or Canada.

2. a member of a political party in Great Britain from the late 17th century to about 1832 that favored royal authority over Parliament and the preservation of the existing social and political order: succeeded by the Conservative party.

3. (often lowercase) an advocate of conservative principles; one opposed to reform or radicalism.

4. a person who supported the British cause in the American Revolution; a loyalist.

5. (in the 17th century) a dispossessed Irishman who resorted to banditry, especially after the invasion of Oliver Cromwell and suppression of the royalist cause (1649–52).

6. a male or female given name.

---

adjective

1. of, belonging to, or characteristic of the Tories.

2. being a Tory.

3. (sometimes lowercase) opposed to reform or radicalism; conservative.

-tory ² American  

1. a suffix occurring in loanwords from Latin, originally adjectival derivatives of agent nouns ending in -tor (predatory ); also forming adjectival derivatives directly from verbs (obligatory; transitory ).

---

-tory ³ American  

1. a suffix occurring in loanwords from Latin, usually derivatives from agent nouns ending in -tor or directly from verbs, denoting a place or object appropriate for the activity of the verb: dormitory; repository .

---

Tory British  

/ ˈtɔːrɪ /

noun

1. a member or supporter of the Conservative Party in Great Britain or Canada

2. a member of the English political party that opposed the exclusion of James, Duke of York from the royal succession (1679–80). Tory remained the label for subsequent major conservative interests until they gave birth to the Conservative Party in the 1830s

3. an American supporter of the British cause; loyalist Compare Whig

4. (sometimes not capital) an ultraconservative or reactionary

5. (in the 17th century) an Irish Roman Catholic, esp an outlaw who preyed upon English settlers

---

adjective

1. of, characteristic of, or relating to Tories

2. (sometimes not capital) ultraconservative or reactionary

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• Toryism
  noun
• Toryish
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• Tories
  plural

Etymology

Origin of Tory¹

1640–50; < Irish *tóraighe outlaw, bandit, derivative of tóir chase, pursuit

Origin of -tory²

< Latin -tōrius, equivalent to -tōr- -tor + -ius adj. suffix

Origin of -tory³

< Latin -tōrium, noun use of neuter of -tōrius -tory ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Tory Tories

"Frankly, it is offensive to working people and I have had enough," said the former Tory MP.

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026

Montgomerie, who defected to Reform 18 months ago after a long career as a Tory adviser and commentator, has said he plans to appeal against the suspension.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026

Network contributor Tory Johnson has handled “Deals and Steals” since its launch and has long been one of the most familiar faces on “GMA.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 19, 2026

In 1932 a Tory historian called Disraeli “the recreator of our party,” framing Conservatives as the defenders of a democratic politics as totalitarian movements loomed abroad.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026

I still hadn’t made up my mind which side I was on in the war, and I didn’t care whether Sam was a Patriot or a Tory or what.

From "My Brother Sam is Dead" by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier

The politician became a household name in the 1990s due to her socially conservative views that put her on the right of the Tories.

From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026

Reed, too, said this time was very different as the Tories had repeatedly changed leader while in government.

From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026

You can’t entirely blame him: It was he, after all, who led Labour to its historic July 2024 victory over Sunak and the Tories, winning 411 of the 650 seats in the House of Commons.

From Salon ● Jun. 24, 2026

The North East MSP defeated SNP candidate Richard Thomson, a former MP for Gordon, by a margin of more than 6,000 votes, with the Tories taking almost half of all ballots cast.

From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2026

People on both sides spoke the same language and could easily make believe they were Tories or Patriots.

From "George Washington, Spymaster" by Thomas B. Allen

Related Words

• archconservative
• counterrevolutionary
• regressive
• rightist
• ultraconservative