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