conservative
adjective
[ kənˈsəːvətɪv ]
• averse to change or innovation and holding traditional values.
Similar:
traditionalist,
traditional,
conventional,
orthodox,
stable,
old-fashioned,
dyed-in-the-wool,
unchanging,
hidebound,
cautious,
prudent,
careful,
safe,
timid,
unadventurous,
unenterprising,
set in one's ways,
moderate,
middle-of-the-road,
temperate,
stick in the mud,
• (in a political context) favouring free enterprise, private ownership, and socially traditional ideas.
Similar:
right-wing,
reactionary,
traditionalist,
unprogressive,
establishmentarian,
blimpish,
ultra-right,
fundamentalist,
alt-right,
Tory,
Republican,
true-blue,
• (of an estimate) purposely low for the sake of caution.
• "police placed the value of the haul at a conservative £500,000"
• (of surgery or medical treatment) intended to control rather than eliminate a condition, with existing tissue preserved as far as possible.
conservative
noun
• a person who is averse to change and holds traditional values.
• a person favouring free enterprise, private ownership, and socially traditional ideas.
Origin:
late Middle English (in the sense ‘aiming to preserve’): from late Latin conservativus, from conservat- ‘conserved’, from the verb conservare (see conserve). Current senses date from the mid 19th century.
