Dictionary
con•serv•a•tive
Pronunciation: (kun-sûr'vu-tiv), [key]
—
adj.
1. disposed to preserve existing conditions, institutions, etc., or to restore traditional ones, and to limit change.
2. cautiously moderate or purposefully low:
a conservative estimate.
3. traditional in style or manner; avoiding novelty or showiness:
conservative suit.
4. (often cap.) of or pertaining to the Conservative party.
5. (
cap.) of, pertaining to, or characteristic of Conservative Jews or Conservative Judaism.
6. having the power or tendency to conserve; preservative.
7. Math.(of a vector or vector function) having curl equal to zero; irrotational; lamellar.
—
n.
1. a person who is conservative in principles, actions, habits, etc.
2. a supporter of conservative political policies.
3. (
cap.) a member of a conservative political party, esp. the Conservative party in Great Britain.
4. a preservative.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
