What does "conventional" mean?
Conventional: Growing out of, or depending on, custom or tacit agreement; sanctioned by general concurrence or usage; formal. "Conventional decorum." Whewell. The conventional language appropriated to monarchs. Motley. The ordinary salutations, and other points of social behavior, are conventional. Latham.
Additional senses
- 2.(Fine Arts) (a) Based upon tradition, whether religious and historical or of artistic rules. (b) Abstracted; removed from close representation of nature by the deliberate selection of what is to be represented and what is to be rejected; as, a conventional flower; a conventional shell. Cf. Conventionalize, v. t.
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
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- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00