conservative

noun

(politics) One who seeks to promote or preserve traditional values or institutions.

(especially US, Canada, politics) One who seeks to promote traditions in a particular domain (e.g. a fiscal conservative or a social conservative).

A person who favors maintenance of the status quo.

(politics) A member of a political party incorporating the word "Conservative" in its name.

(British, politics) A member of the Conservative party.

(Canada, politics) A member or supporter of the Conservative Party of Canada, or its predecessors, or provincial equivalents, or their predecessors

(Judaism) pertaining to Conservative Judaism

adjective

Tending to resist change or innovation.

Cautious, moderate.

(US, Canada, economics, politics, social sciences) Supporting some combination of fiscal, political or social conservatism.

(British, politics) Relating to the Conservative Party.

(clothing) Conventional, traditional, and moderate in style and appearance; not extreme, excessive, faddish, or intense.

(Judaism) Relating to Conservative Judaism.

(medicine) Not including any operation or intervention (said of a treatment, see conservative treatment)

Based on pessimistic assumptions, and on the low side.

Having power to preserve in a safe or entire state, or from loss, waste, or injury; preservative.

(linguistics) Having few changes relative to an older form, especially in comparison to related varieties.

(physics, not comparable) Neither creating nor destroying a given quantity.

(calculus, of field) That is the gradient of a function.

Roots

servoserv- · Latin · keep, guard

Synonyms for conservative

democratn partisanadj

Synonyms & related words for conservative

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Words related to conservative

Explore words related to conservative — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include conservativeness, blimpish, ultraconservative, archconservative, conservatism, liberal, overliberal, mossback. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for conservative

Common synonyms for conservative include democrat, partisan — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does conservative come from?

The word conservative breaks down into one root of Latin origin: the root serv-, from Latin servo (“keep, guard”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.