conventional
Americanadjective
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conforming or adhering to accepted standards, as of conduct or taste.
conventional behavior.
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pertaining to convention or general agreement; established by general consent or accepted usage; arbitrarily determined.
conventional symbols.
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ordinary rather than different or original.
conventional phraseology.
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not using, making, or involving nuclear weapons or energy; nonnuclear.
conventional warfare.
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Art.
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in accordance with an accepted manner, model, or tradition.
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(of figurative art) represented in a generalized or simplified manner.
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of or relating to a convention, agreement, or compact.
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Law. resting on consent, express or implied.
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of or relating to a convention or assembly.
adjective
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following the accepted customs and proprieties, esp in a way that lacks originality
conventional habits
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established by accepted usage or general agreement
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of or relating to a convention or assembly
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law based upon the agreement or consent of parties
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arts represented in a simplified or generalized way; conventionalized
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(of weapons, warfare, etc) not nuclear
noun
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bridge another word for convention
Related Words
See formal 1.
Other Word Forms
- anticonventional adjective
- anticonventionalist noun
- anticonventionally adverb
- conventionalist noun
- conventionally adverb
- nonconventional adjective
- nonconventionally adverb
- quasi-conventional adjective
- quasi-conventionally adverb
- semiconventional adjective
- semiconventionally adverb
Etymology
Origin of conventional
From the Late Latin word conventiōnālis, dating back to 1575–85. See convention, -al 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
They can even detect tuberculosis, an infectious disease that commonly affects the lungs, far quicker than it would be found in a lab using conventional microscopy, Apopo has said.
From BBC • Apr. 4, 2026
Iran’s arsenal of land-based antiship missiles, drones, and small attack craft, not its conventional navy, poses the main threat.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 4, 2026
Airbus is also working on an unmanned version of the H145 helicopter, known as the Lakota in the United States, for the US Navy, a major customer for the conventional model.
From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026
As a result, it consumes much less energy per bit of transmitted data compared to conventional Wi-Fi systems.
From Science Daily • Apr. 2, 2026
Looking at Vincent's paintings, he tells Jo, “One first has to relinquish all ones conventional ideas in order to grasp what he means. But one day he will be understood. When? That is the question.”
From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.