conventional

[kuhn-ven-shuh-nl]

adjective

1. conforming or adhering to accepted standards, as of conduct or taste.

   conventional behavior.

2. pertaining to convention or general agreement; established by general consent or accepted usage; arbitrarily determined.

   conventional symbols.

   Synonyms: customary, habitual, usual

3. ordinary rather than different or original.

   conventional phraseology.

4. not using, making, or involving nuclear weapons or energy; nonnuclear.

   conventional warfare.

5. Art.

   1. in accordance with an accepted manner, model, or tradition.

   2. (of figurative art) represented in a generalized or simplified manner.

6. of or relating to a convention, agreement, or compact.

7. Law.,  resting on consent, express or implied.

8. of or relating to a convention or assembly.

conventional

/ kənˈvɛnʃənəl /

adjective

1. following the accepted customs and proprieties, esp in a way that lacks originality

   conventional habits

2. established by accepted usage or general agreement

3. of or relating to a convention or assembly

4. law based upon the agreement or consent of parties

5. arts represented in a simplified or generalized way; conventionalized

6. (of weapons, warfare, etc) not nuclear

noun

1. bridge another word for convention

Other Word Forms

• conventionalist noun
• conventionally adverb
• anticonventional adjective
• anticonventionally adverb
• anticonventionalist noun
• nonconventional adjective
• nonconventionally adverb
• quasi-conventional adjective
• quasi-conventionally adverb
• semiconventional adjective
• semiconventionally adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of conventional¹

From the Late Latin word conventiōnālis, dating back to 1575–85. See convention, -al ¹

Synonym Study

See formal ¹.

Example Sentences

Her memoir is not a conventional biography but, as she puts it, "about my relationship with my mother… about how she made me the kind of writer that I am - and then resented it".

From BBC

While the chancellor has been far from keen on a conventional wealth tax on assets, some in the wider Labour movement are pressing her to look at how those with "the broadest shoulders" pay more.

From BBC

Besides an array of conventional aerial drones, there were also "robotic wolves".

From BBC

For all that innovation, these latest moves are also partly about establishing more conventional - and clearer - structures.

From BBC

While many diet culture assumptions may seem like conventional wisdom, health research has found that weight management and being thin are not automatically essential to health.

From Salon

Related Words

• current 
• ordinary 
• regular 
• traditional 
• typical