conservative: Meaning and Definition of

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. (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.
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