conservative

Syllables: con·ser·va·tive/kənˈsɜːvətɪv/US/kənˈsɝvətɪv/

conservative noun: a person who favors maintenance of the status quo.

Noun (1)

conservative (plural conservatives)

A person who favors maintenance of the status quo.
- 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),[…]1999, Nicholas Walker, “The Reorientation of Critical Theory: Habermas”, in Simon Glemdinning, editor, The Edinburgh Encyclopedia of Continental Philosophy, Routledge, →ISBN, page 489
One who seeks to promote or preserve traditional values or institutions.
- If there’s a down side to the film, it’s that “Soros” probably doesn’t devote enough time to the way its subject has become a favorite bogeyman to conservatives that paint him as the guiding hand behind grassroots campaigns by those intent on discrediting them.2020 November 18, Brian Lowry, “‘Soros’ looks at the life and activism of the right’s favorite bogeyman”, in CNN, archived from the original on 05 Mar 2026
(Canada, US, especially) One who seeks to promote traditions in a particular domain (e.g. a fiscal conservative or a social conservative).

Adjective

conservative (comparative more conservative, superlative most conservative)

Cautious, moderate.
- The chef added a conservative amount of salt to the dish.
Tending to resist change or innovation.
- The curriculum committee at this university is extremely conservative.
- India is a conservative land. The gods do not change.1923, Ernest Bramah [pseudonym; Ernest Brammah Smith], “(please specify the page)”, in The Eyes of Max Carrados, London: Grant Richards, →OCLC
Based on pessimistic assumptions, and on the low side.
- At a conservative estimate, growth may even be negative next year.
(Canada, US) Supporting some combination of fiscal, political or social conservatism.
- Newspapers in "capitalist" ownership, universities presided over by "reactionary" governing bodies, broadcasting systems owned by conservative governments have all been known to influence public opinion in the direction of socialism, because this was the conviction of the personnel.1949, F. A. Hayek, “The Intellectuals and Socialism”, in University of Chicago Law Review, volume 16, number 3, Chicago: University of Chicago, →DOI, page 421
- George Soros remains a favorite target of conservative conspiracy theorists, seeing his corrupting influence behind every liberal movement and within every nook and cranny.2020 November 18, Brian Lowry, “‘Soros’ looks at the life and activism of the right’s favorite bogeyman”, in CNN, archived from the original on 05 Mar 2026
(UK) Relating to the Conservative Party.
- We have always been conscientiously attached to what is called the Tory, and which might with more propriety be called the Conservative, party.1830, Quarterly Rev.
(not comparable) Neither creating nor destroying a given quantity.
Having power to preserve in a safe or entire state, or from loss, waste, or injury; preservative.
- Without the conservative organs, the body would receive no nourishment; and without nourishment, it would soon decay and perish.1841, The New British and Foreign Temperance Magazine, page 202
(Judaism) Relating to Conservative Judaism.
Conventional, traditional, and moderate in style and appearance; not extreme, excessive, faddish, or intense.
Not including any operation or intervention (said of a treatment, see conservative treatment)
- Operative treatment should be reserved for those patients in whom conservative treatment has failed and who are motivated with regard to sports.2000, G. Puddu et al., “Achilles Tendon Injuries”, in The Encyclopaedia of Sports Medicine, →ISBN, page 200
Having few changes relative to an older form, especially in comparison to related varieties.
- While innovative in its verbal system, Sardinian is the most conservative Romance language in its vocabulary and phonology.
- In spite of the vague evidence, I think that we may conclude that ME ǭ, like ME ę̄, had two pronunciations during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, a more advanced pronunciation with close [oː], and a more conservative one with the ‘intermediate vowel’ [ɔː] […]1957, E[ric] J. Dobson, English pronunciation 1500-1700, second edition, volume II: Phonology, Oxford: Clarendon Press, published 1968, →OCLC, § 145, page 673
That is the gradient of a function.

Noun (2) capitalized: Conservative

Conservative (plural Conservatives)

(UK) A member of the Conservative party.
- "Avanti has literally broken records over the last six months for delays and cancellations, and the Conservatives' answer is to reward failure with millions more in taxpayer cash," said Labour Shadow Transport Secretary Louise Haigh.2023 April 5, “Network News: Conservatives accused of "rewarding Avanti's failure"”, in RAIL, number 980, page 6
(Canada) A member or supporter of the Conservative Party of Canada, or its predecessors, or provincial equivalents, or their predecessors

Synonyms:

Tory, Blue
(Judaism) pertaining to Conservative Judaism

conservative meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

conservative in Hindi

one who favors the status quo: रूढ़िवादी rūṛhivādī
social conservative: रूढ़िवादी rūṛhivādī
tending to resist change: रूढ़िवादी rūṛhivādī

conservative in Tamil

பழமை விரும்பி, பழமை விரும்புகிற, மாறுதல் விரும்பாத, தனித்துநிற்கும், மாறாத, பழமையான

conservative in Marathi

पुराणमतवादी, रूढीवादी

conservative in Urdu

قدامت پسند, سخت گیر

More languagesFewer languages

conservative in Bengali: রক্ষণশীল, সংরক্ষণশীল
conservative in Telugu: సంప్రదాయవాది sampradāyavādi
conservative in Malayalam: മൂരാച്ചി mūrācci, വലത്തൻ valattaṉ
conservative in Kannada: ಸಂಪ್ರದಾಯವಾದಿ, ಮಡಿವಂತ, ಸಂಪ್ರದಾಯ ನಿಷ್ಠ, ಹಿಡಿತದ
conservative in Punjabi: ਰੂਡ਼੍ਹੀਵਾਦੀ, ਕੰਜ਼ਰਵੇਟਿਵ, ਰੂਡ਼ੀਵਾਦੀ
conservative in Gujarati: રૂઢિચુસ્ત
conservative in Odia: ରକ୍ଷଣଶୀଳ
conservative in Nepali: रूढीवादी, कन्जरभेटिभ, कन्जर्वेटिभ
conservative in Arabic: مُحَافِظ muḥāfiẓ
conservative in Malay: konservatif
conservative in Indonesian: konservatif
conservative in Persian: محافظهکار mohâfeze-kâr
conservative in Thai: หัวโบราณ hǔua-boo-raan
conservative in Vietnamese: bảo thủ, bảo thủ chủ nghĩa

Examples of conservative in a sentence

His vigorous patronage of the conservatives got him in trouble with progressives.
Only one candidate is willing to fly the conservative flag boldly.
Germanization was a central plank of German conservative thinking in the 19th and 20th centuries.

All 40 example sentences with conservative

Synonyms of conservative

Tory
Blue

Forms of conservative

Noun
plural	conservatives
plural	Conservatives
Adjective
comparative	more conservative
superlative	most conservative

Plural of conservative: conservatives

Origin of conservative

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

Words formed from conservative

Phrases with conservative

Questions about conservative

What does conservative mean?: Conservative means a person who favors maintenance of the status quo.
What is conservative in Hindi?: Conservative in Hindi is रूढ़िवादी (rūṛhivādī). See Conservative meaning in Hindi.
What part of speech is conservative?: Conservative can be a noun or an adjective.
How do you pronounce conservative?: Conservative is pronounced /kənˈsɜːvətɪv/ (UK).
What is the plural of conservative?: The plural of conservative is conservatives.

Words near conservative in the dictionary

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-conservative.wav.

Cite this entry: “conservative.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/conservative. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.