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Conservative - 8 dictionary results
con⋅serv⋅a⋅tive
[kuh
n-sur-vuh-tiv] 
–adjective
| 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 initial capital letter) of or pertaining to the Conservative party. |
| 5. | (initial capital letter) of, pertaining to, or characteristic of Conservative Jews or Conservative Judaism. |
| 6. | having the power or tendency to conserve; preservative. |
| 7. | Mathematics. (of a vector or vector function) having curl equal to zero; irrotational; lamellar. |
–noun
| 8. | a person who is conservative in principles, actions, habits, etc. |
| 9. | a supporter of conservative political policies. |
| 10. | (initial capital letter) a member of a conservative political party, esp. the Conservative party in Great Britain. |
| 11. | a preservative. |
Origin:
1350–1400; < LL conservātīvus, equiv. to L conservāt(us) (see conservation ) + -īvus -ive; r. ME conservatif < MF < L, as above
1350–1400; < LL conservātīvus, equiv. to L conservāt(us) (see conservation ) + -īvus -ive; r. ME conservatif < MF < L, as above
Related forms:
con⋅serv⋅a⋅tive⋅ly, adverb
con⋅serv⋅a⋅tive⋅ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To Conservative
| con·ser·va·tive (kən-sûr'və-tĭv) adj.
|
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Conservative
Con*serv"a*tive\, a. [Cf. F. conservatif.]1. Having power to preserve in a safe of entire state, or from loss, waste, or injury; preservative. 2. Tending or disposed to maintain existing institutions; opposed to change or innovation. 3. Of or pertaining to a political party which favors the conservation of existing institutions and forms of government, as the Conservative party in England; -- contradistinguished from Liberal and Radical. We have always been conscientiously attached to what is called the Tory, and which might with more propriety be called the Conservative, party. --Quart. Rev. (1830). Conservative system (Mech.), a material system of such a nature that after the system has undergone any series of changes, and been brought back in any manner to its original state, the whole work done by external agents on the system is equal to the whole work done by the system overcoming external forces. --Clerk Maxwell.Conservative
Con*serv"a*tive\, n. 1. One who, or that which, preserves from ruin, injury, innovation, or radical change; a preserver; a conserver. The Holy Spirit is the great conservative of the new life. --Jer. Taylor. 2. One who desires to maintain existing institutions and customs; also, one who holds moderate opinions in politics; -- opposed to revolutionary or radical. 3. (Eng. Hist.) A member of the Conservative party.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : Conservative
Spanish:
conservador,
German:
konservativ,
Japanese:
保守的な
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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conservative
as a modern political tradition, conservatism traces to Edmund Burke's opposition to the Fr. Revolution (1790), but the word conservative is not found in his writing. It was coined by his Fr. disciples, (e.g. Chateaubriand, who titled his journal defending clerical and political restoration "Le Conservateur"). Conservative as the name of a British political faction it first appeared in an 1830 issue of the "Quarterly Review," in an unsigned article sometimes attributed to John Wilson Croker. It replaced Tory (q.v.) by 1843, reflecting both a change from the pejorative name (in use for 150 years) and repudiation of some reactionary policies. Extended to similar spirits in other parties from 1845.
"Strictly speaking, conservatism is not a political system, but rather a way of looking at the civil order. The conservative of Peru ... will differ greatly from those of Australia, for though they may share a preference for things established, the institutions and customs which they desire to preserve are not identical." [Russell Kirk (1918-1994)]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: con·ser·va·tive
Pronunciation: k&n-'s&r-v&t-iv
Function: adjective
: designed to preserve parts or restorefunction <conservative surgery> —compare RADICAL —con·ser·va·tive·ly adverb
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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conservative con·ser·va·tive (kən-sûr'və-tĭv)
adj.
Of or relating to treatment by gradual, limited, or well-established procedures; not radical.
con·ser'va·tive·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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