Meaning of “conservative” in the English Dictionary

English Contents

"conservative" in English

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conservative
adjective UK US

conservative (AGAINST CHANGE)

C1 not usually liking or trusting change, especially sudden change:

a conservative society/outlook
Older people tend to be more conservative and a bit suspicious of anything new.

Compare
liberal adjective

If you are conservative in your appearance, you usually do not like fashionable
or modern clothes or hairstyles:
He's a very conservative dresser - he always looks like he's wearing his father's clothes!

– More examples

He has a very conservative approach to management.

She's very conservative in her eating habits.
When it comes to music, my tastes are quite conservative.

+ Thesaurus: synonyms and related words

conservative (LOW)

A conservative guess or calculation is likely to be less than the real amount:

If I said there were three million unemployed, that would be a conservative estimate.
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 + Thesaurus: synonyms and related words

Related words

conservatively

Conservative
adjective UK US

belonging to or supporting the British political party that traditionally supports

business and opposes high taxes and government involvement in industry:
the Conservative Party
Conservative policies
a Conservative MP/government
Did you vote Conservative at the last election?

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+ Thesaurus: synonyms and related words

Conservative

[C] UK US

She's a staunch (= very loyal) Conservative.

Conservatism

[U] UK US

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(Definition of “conservative” from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

American Contents

"conservative" in American English

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conservative
adjective US

conservative (SOCIAL)

tending to emphasize the importance of preserving traditional cultural and

religious values, and to oppose change, esp. sudden change

If you are conservative in your appearance, you wear clothes in traditional colors
and styles:
He wore a conservative business suit for his interview.

conservatively

US

She was conservatively dressed in a gray suit.

conservative (POLITICAL)

politics & government tending to emphasize the importance of personal responsibility

and traditional values and to oppose depending on government for social
services:
conservative Republicans

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 conservative

[C] US

The Congressional committee had an equal number of conservatives and liberals.

conservative (LOW)

(of guesses and calculations) likely to be less than the real amount:
Even by conservative estimates, the company will lose $2,000,000 this year.

(Definition of “conservative” from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Business Contents

"conservative" in Business English

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conservative
adjective UK US

not involving or taking unnecessary risks:

The firm has always had a conservative approach to investment.

lower than the real figure or amount seems likely to be:

a conservative estimate/figure

(Definition of “conservative” from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Translations of “conservative”

in Chinese (Traditional)

反對改變, 保守的, 守舊的…

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a small, orange sea creature that lives inside a black shell with two parts that close tightly together. Mussels can be
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