Adjacent Words

Conservative definitions

	Tweet

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

CONSERVATIVE, a. Preservative; having power to preserve in a safe or entire state, or from loss, waste or injury.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: resistant to change [ant: liberal]
2: having social or political views favoring conservatism
3: avoiding excess; "a conservative estimate" [syn: cautious, conservative]
4: unimaginatively conventional; "a colorful character in the buttoned-down, dull-grey world of business"- Newsweek [syn: button-down, buttoned-down, conservative]
5: conforming to the standards and conventions of the middle class; "a bourgeois mentality" [syn: bourgeois, conservative, materialistic] n
1: a person who is reluctant to accept changes and new ideas [syn: conservative, conservativist] [ant: liberal, liberalist, progressive]
2: a member of a Conservative Party

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Date: 14th century 1. preservative 2. a. of or relating to a philosophy of conservatism b. capitalized of or constituting a political party professing the principles of conservatism: as (1) of or constituting a party of the United Kingdom advocating support of established institutions (2) Progressive Conservative 3. a. tending or disposed to maintain existing views, conditions, or institutions ; traditional b. marked by moderation or caution <a conservative estimate> c. marked by or relating to traditional norms of taste, elegance, style, or manners <a conservative suit> 4. of, relating to, or practicing Conservative Judaism • conservatively adverb • conservativeness noun II. noun Date: 1831 1. a. an adherent or advocate of political conservatism b. capitalized a member or supporter of a conservative political party 2. a. one who adheres to traditional methods or views b. a cautious or discreet person

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. & n. --adj. 1 a averse to rapid change. b (of views, taste, etc.) moderate, avoiding extremes (conservative in his dress). 2 (of an estimate etc.) purposely low; moderate, cautious. 3 (Conservative) of or characteristic of Conservatives or the Conservative Party. 4 tending to conserve. --n. 1 a conservative person. 2 (Conservative) a supporter or member of the Conservative Party. Phrases and idioms: Conservative Judaism Judaism allowing only minor changes in traditional ritual etc. Conservative Party 1 a British political party promoting free enterprise and private ownership. 2 a similar party elsewhere. conservative surgery surgery that seeks to preserve tissues as far as possible. Derivatives: conservatism n. conservatively adv. conservativeness n. Etymology: ME f. LL conservativus (as conserve)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Conservative Con*serv"a*tive, a. [Cf. F. conservatif.] 1. Having power to preserve in a safe of entire state, or from loss, waste, or injury; preservative.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Conservative Con*serv"a*tive, n. 1. One who, or that which, preserves from ruin, injury, innovation, or radical change; a preserver; a conserver. The Holy Spirit is the great conservative of the new life. --Jer. Taylor. 2. One who desires to maintain existing institutions and customs; also, one who holds moderate opinions in politics; -- opposed to revolutionary or radical. 3. (Eng. Hist.) A member of the Conservative party.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(conservatives) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. Note: The spelling 'Conservative' is also used for meaning 1. 1. A Conservative politician or voter is a member of or votes for the Conservative Party in Britain. Most Conservative MPs appear happy with the government's reassurances. ...disenchanted Conservative voters. = Tory ADJ • Conservative is also a noun. In 1951 the Conservatives were returned to power. N-COUNT 2. Someone who is conservative has right-wing views. ...counties whose citizens invariably support the most conservative candidate in any election. = right-wing ADJ • Conservative is also a noun. The new judge is 50-year-old David Suitor who's regarded as a conservative. N-COUNT 3. Someone who is conservative or has conservative ideas is unwilling to accept changes and new ideas. It is essentially a narrow and conservative approach to child care. ADJ 4. If someone dresses in a conservative way, their clothes are conventional in style. The girl was well dressed, as usual, though in a more conservative style. ADJ • conservatively She was always very conservatively dressed when we went out. ADV: ADV with v 5. A conservative estimate or guess is one in which you are cautious and estimate or guess a low amount which is probably less that the real amount. A conservative estimate of the bill, so far, is about £22,000... This guess is probably on the conservative side. ADJ: usu ADJ n • conservatively The bequest is conservatively estimated at £30 million. ADV: ADV with v

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. 1. Preservative, conservatory. 2. Opposed to change.

Moby Thesaurus

Bircher, Bourbon, Epistle side, Methuselah, Tory, antediluvian, antique, back number, backward, bitter-ender, careful, cautious, centrist, chary, circumspect, clockwise, compromiser, conformist, conservational, conservationist, conservatist, conservatory, conserving, controlled, conventional, dad, decanal side, dexter, dextral, dextrocardial, dextrocerebral, dextrocular, dextrogyrate, dextrogyratory, dextropedal, dextrorotary, dextrorse, die-hard, diehard, discreet, dodo, elder, extreme right-winger, fogy, fogyish, fossil, fud, fuddy-duddy, fundamentalist, granny, hard hat, has-been, hidebound, imperialist, keeping, laudator temporis acti, longhair, matriarch, mid-Victorian, middle-of-the-road, middle-of-the-roader, moderate, moderationist, moderatist, monarchist, mossback, neutral, nonprogressive, off, old believer, old crock, old dodo, old fogy, old liner, old man, old poop, old school, old woman, old-fashioned, old-fogyish, old-line, old-timer, opposed to change, orthodox, patriarch, politic, pop, pops, preservative, preservatory, preserving, proper, protective, prudent, radical right, reactionarist, reactionary, reactionist, reasonable, recto, regular old fogy, relic, restrained, right, right field, right hand, right of center, right side, right wing, right-hand, right-wing, right-winger, right-wingish, rightist, royalist, saving, sober, social Darwinist, square, stable, standard, standpat, standpatter, starboard, starboard tack, starets, stick-in-the-mud, temperate, tory, traditional, traditionalist, traditionalistic, true-blue, ultraconservative, unexcessive, unextravagant, unextreme, unprogressive, wary

Moby Thesaurus

Democrat, Labourite, Republican, Tory, Whig, heeler, loyalist, partisan, party faithful, party hack, party man, party member, party wheelhorse, registered Democrat, registered Republican, regular, stalwart, ward heeler, wheelhorse