conventional

See also:convențional

English

Etymology

convention+‎-al

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):/kənˈvɛnʃənəl/

• Audio(US):

  (file)

Adjective

conventional(comparativemoreconventional,superlativemostconventional)

1. Pertaining to aconvention,as in following generally acceptedprinciples,methodsandbehaviour.
   • 2013June 1, “Ideas coming down the track”,inThe Economist,volume407,number8838,page 13 (Technology Quarterly):

     A “moving platform” scheme[…]is more technologically ambitious than maglev trains even though it relies onconventionalrails. Local trains would use side-by-side rails to roll alongside intercity trains and allow passengers to switch trains by stepping through docking bays.

2. Ordinary,commonplace.

   They wearconventionalclothes, eatconventionalfood, and keepconventionalhours.

   • 1908,Henry James,chapterXXIX,inThe Portrait of a Lady(The Novels and Tales of Henry James; IV), New York edition, volume II, Boston, Mass., New York, N.Y.:Charles Scribner’s Sons,→OCLC;republished asThe Portrait of a Lady(EBook #2834), United States:Project Gutenberg,1 September 2001:

     “You’re notconventional?”Isabel gravely asked. “I like the way you utter that word! No, I’m notconventional:I’m convention itself. You don’t understand that?”

   • 1921,Ben Travers,chapter 2, inA Cuckoo in the Nest,Garden City, N.Y.:Doubleday, Page & Company,published1925,→OCLC:

     Mother[…]considered that the exclusiveness of Peter's circle was due not to its distinction, but to the fact that it was an inner Babylon of prodigality and whoredom, from which every Kensingtonian held aloof, except on theconventionaltip-and-run excursions in pursuit of shopping, tea and theatres.

   • 1980,Carl Sagan,Cosmos: A Personal Voyage:

     The history of our study of our solar system shows us clearly that accepted andconventionalideas are often wrong, and that fundamental insights can arise from the most unexpected sources.

3. Banal,trite,hackneyed,unoriginalorclichéd.
4. (weaponry)Pertaining to aweaponwhich is not aweapon of mass destruction.
5. (agriculture)Making use ofsyntheticfertilizersandpesticides.
6. (bridge)In accordance with abiddingconvention,as opposed to anaturalbid.

   Synonym:artificial

   Antonym:natural

Synonyms

• (pertaining to a convention):typical,canonical
• (banal):stereotypical

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of“pertaining to a convention”):atypical,out of the ordinary,unconventional
• (antonym(s) of“ordinary”):imaginative
• (antonym(s) of“weapons”):nuclear
• (antonym(s) of“agriculture”):organic
• (antonym(s) of“bridge”):natural

Derived terms

• conventionalism
• conventionalist
• conventionally
• conventional memory
• conventional mortgage loan
• conventional oven
• conventional PCI
• conventional war
• conventional warfare
• conventional weapon
• conventional weaponry
• conventional wisdom
• non-conventional

Related terms

• convention

Translations

following an accepted principle

• Arabic:عُرْفِيّm(ʕurfiyy)
• Armenian:please add this translation if you can
• Catalan:convencional(ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin:Hiệp định

• Esperanto:konvencia
• Finnish:tavanomainen(fi),konventionaalinen(fi)
• French:please add this translation if you can
• Galician:convencional(gl)morf
• German:konventionell(de)
• Irish:gnásúil
• Persian:عرفی(phát)('orfi)
• Polish:konwencjonalny(pl)
• Portuguese:convencional(pt)
• Romanian:convențional(ro)m,convenționalăf
• Russian:общепри́нятый(ru)(obščeprínjatyj),конвенцио́нный(ru)(konvenciónnyj)
• Spanish:convencional(es)
• Swedish:vedertagen(sv)
• Tagalog:kagawianin
• Thai:please add this translation if you can
• Ukrainian:загальнопри́йнятий(zahalʹnoprýjnjatyj)

ordinary, commonplace

• Bulgarian:обикновен(bg)(obiknoven),традиционен(bg)(tradicionen),стандартен(bg)(standarten)
• Catalan:convencional(ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin:Thường quy

• Finnish:tavanomainen(fi)
• French:conventionnel(fr)
• German:konventionell(de),herkömmlich(de)
• Irish:gnásúil
• Italian:convenzionale(it)
• Portuguese:convencional(pt)
• Romanian:convențional(ro)morn
• Romansch:convenziunal
• Russian:обы́чный(ru)(obýčnyj),традицио́нный(ru)(tradiciónnyj),станда́ртный(ru)(standártnyj),обыкнове́нный(ru)(obyknovénnyj),общепри́нятый(ru)(obščeprínjatyj),консервати́вный(ru)(konservatívnyj)
• Slovene:konvencionálen
• Spanish:convencional(es)
• Ukrainian:звича́йний(zvyčájnyj)

Noun

conventional(pluralconventionals)

1. (finance)A conventional gilt-edged security, a kind ofbondpaying the holder a fixed cash payment (orcoupon) every six months untilmaturity,at which point the holder receives the final payment and the return of theprincipal.

Further reading

• "conventional" in Raymond Williams,Keywords(revised), 1983, Fontana Press, page 80.