conservative

 
Pronunciation: /kənˈsəːvətɪv/

adjective

  • 1averse to change or innovation and holding traditional values: they were very conservative in their outlook
  • (of dress or taste) sober and conventional: a conservative suit
  • 2(in a political context) favouring free enterprise, private ownership, and socially conservative ideas.
  • (Conservative) relating to the Conservative Party of Great Britain or a similar party elsewhere: the Conservative government
  • 3(of an estimate) purposely low for the sake of caution: police placed the value of the haul at a conservative £500,000
  • 4(of surgery or medical treatment) intended to control rather than eliminate a condition, with existing tissue preserved as far as possible.

noun

  • 1a person who is averse to change and holds traditional values: he remains a conservative in constitutional matters
  • 2 (Conservative) a supporter or member of the Conservative Party of Great Britain or a similar party elsewhere.

Phrases

conservative with a small ‘c’

said of someone who is conservative in outlook but does not necessarily vote for or support a Conservative party: I think there are a good number of teachers who are instinctively conservative with a small c

Derivatives

conservatism

noun

conservatively

adverb

conservativeness

noun

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