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   Con·serv·a·tive

   /kənˈsərvədiv/

   

   adjective

   • 1. averse to change or innovation and holding traditional values: "they were very conservative in their outlook" Similar traditionalisttraditionalconventionalorthodoxstableold-fashioneddyed-in-the-woolunchanginghideboundcautiousprudentcarefulsafetimidunadventurousunenterprisingset in one's waysmoderatemiddle-of-the-roadtemperateinformal:stick in the mudOpposite radical
   • ▪ (of dress or taste) sober and conventional: "a conservative suit" Similar conventionalsoberquietmodestplainunobtrusiveunostentatiousrestrainedreservedsubduedsubtlelow-keydemureinformal:squarestraightOpposite ostentatious
   • 2. (in a political context) favoring free enterprise, private ownership, and socially traditional ideas. Similar right-wingtraditionalistreactionaryestablishmentarianneoliberalneoconservativealt-rightToryRepublicantrue-blueOpposite left-wingliberalsocialist
   • ▪ relating to the Conservative Party in the UK or a similar party elsewhere: "the Conservative government"
   • 3. (of an estimate) purposely low for the sake of caution: "the film was not cheap—$30,000 is a conservative estimate" Similar lowcautiousunderstatedunexaggeratedmoderatereasonable
   • 4. (of surgery or medical treatment) intended to control rather than eliminate a condition, with existing tissue preserved as far as possible.

   noun

   • 1. a person who is averse to change and holds traditional values: "he was considered a conservative in his approach to Catholic teachings"
   • 2. a person favoring free enterprise, private ownership, and socially traditional ideas. "many conservatives remain opposed to mandates"
   • ▪ a supporter or member of the Conservative Party in the UK or a similar party elsewhere.

   Word Origin 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.

   Derivatives

   • 1. conservativeness noun

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