Meaning of conservative in English

1. Pronunciation

   /kənˈsərvədɪv/

   US accent

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   UK accent

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1. Classifying Adjective

   conservative

   Definitions

   1. opposed to liberal reforms

   Synonyms

   • right
2. 2. avoiding excess

   Examples

   • « a conservative estimate »

   Synonyms

   • moderate
3. 3. unimaginatively conventional

   Examples

   • « a colorful character in the buttoned-down, dull-gray world of business- Newsweek »

   Synonyms

   • conventional
4. 4. conforming to the standards and conventions of the middle class

   Examples

   • « a bourgeois mentality »

   Synonyms

   • middle-class

5. Noun

   conservative

   Definitions

   1. a person who has conservative ideas or opinions

   Antonyms

   • liberal
   • progressive

6. Qualitative Adjective

   conservative

   Etymology

   late Middle English (in the sense ‘aiming to preserve’): from late Latin conservativus, from conservat-‘conserved’, from the verb conservare (see conserve). Current senses date from the mid 19th century

   Definitions

   1. resistant to change

   Synonyms

   • blimpish
   • buttoned-up
   • fusty
   • standpat(a)
   • unprogressive
   • nonprogressive
   • hidebound
   • traditionalist
   • ultraconservative

   Antonyms

   • liberal

See also

• orthodox
• right