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Meaning of conservative in English

  1. Pronunciation

    /kənˈsərvədɪv/

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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

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