conservative

See also: Conservative

EnglishEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Middle French conservatif, from Latin cōnservō (“to preserve”). Equivalent to conserve +‎ -ative.

PronunciationEdit

NounEdit

conservative (plural conservatives)

  1. A person who favors maintenance of the status quo.
    • 1999, Nicholas Walker, “The Reorientation of Critical Theory: Habermas”, in Simon Glemdinning, editor, The Edinburgh Encyclopedia of Continental Philosophy‎[1], Routledge, →ISBN, page 489:
      During the late 1950s and throughout the 1960s, this commitment brought him into frequent critical confrontation with entrenched forms of conservative thinking (in academic areas from history and social science to the more abstract domains of ethical and political philosophy), […]
    1. (politics) One who opposes changes to the traditional institutions of their country.
    2. (politics) A political conservative.
    3. (US, economics) A fiscal conservative.
    4. (US, social sciences) A social conservative.
    Synonyms: traditionalist, right-winger, reactionary
    Hyponym: small-c conservative
    Coordinate terms: moderate, liberal, progressive, libertarian, centrist

TranslationsEdit

AdjectiveEdit

conservative (comparative more conservative, superlative most conservative)

  1. Cautious.
  2. Tending to resist change or innovation.
    The curriculum committee at this university is extremely conservative.
  3. Based on pessimistic assumptions.
    At a conservative estimate, growth may even be negative next year.
  4. (US, economics, politics, social sciences) Supporting some combination of fiscal, political or social conservatism.
  5. (Britain, politics) Relating to the Conservative Party.
    • 1830, Quarterly Rev.
      We have always been conscientiously attached to what is called the Tory, and which might with more propriety be called the Conservative, party.
  6. (physics, not comparable) Neither creating nor destroying a given quantity.
  7. Having power to preserve in a safe or entire state, or from loss, waste, or injury; preservative.
  8. (Judaism) Relating to Conservative Judaism.
  9. (clothing) Conventional, traditional, and moderate in style and appearance; not extreme, excessive, faddish, or intense.
  10. (medicine) Not including any operation or intervention (said of a treatment, see conservative treatment)
    • 2000, G. Puddu et al., "Achilles Tendon Injuries" in The Encyclopaedia of Sports Medicine, →ISBN, page 200:
      Operative treatment should be reserved for those patients in whom conservative treatment has failed and who are motivated with regard to sports.

QuotationsEdit

Related termsEdit

TranslationsEdit

cautious — see cautious

See alsoEdit

ReferencesEdit

  • conservative at OneLook Dictionary Search
  • conservative in Keywords for Today: A 21st Century Vocabulary, edited by The Keywords Project, Colin MacCabe, Holly Yanacek, 2018.
  • conservative in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911.

AnagramsEdit

FrenchEdit

PronunciationEdit

AdjectiveEdit

conservative

  1. feminine singular of conservatif

InterlinguaEdit

AdjectiveEdit

conservative (comparative plus conservative, superlative le plus conservative)

  1. conservative

ItalianEdit

AdjectiveEdit

conservative

  1. feminine plural of conservativo

AnagramsEdit

LatinEdit

PronunciationEdit

AdjectiveEdit

cōnservātīve

  1. vocative masculine singular of cōnservātīvus

ReferencesEdit

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