| Main Entry: | |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | cautious, moderate, tending to preserve the status quo |
| Synonyms: | Tory, bourgeois, constant, controlled, conventional, die-hard, fearful, firm, fogyish, fuddy-duddy, guarded, hard hat, hidebound, holding to, illiberal, in a rut, inflexible, middle-of-the-road, not extreme, obstinate, old guard, old line, orthodox, quiet, reactionary, redneck, right, right of center, right-wing, sober, stable, steady, timid, traditional, traditionalistic, unchangeable, unchanging, uncreative, undaring, unimaginative, unprogressive, white bread |
| Antonyms: | exaggerated, incautious, left-wing, liberal, progressive, radical |
| Main Entry: | bourgeois |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | commonplace |
| Synonyms: | Philistine, Victorian, common, conservative, conventional, hidebound, illiberal, materialistic, middle-class, old-line, traditional |
| Antonyms: | adventurous, imaginative, inspired, nonconforming, original, untraditional |
| Main Entry: | careful |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | cautious; painstaking |
| Synonyms: | accurate, alert, apprehensive, assiduous, attentive, chary, choosy, circumspect, concerned, conscientious, conservative, cool, deliberate, discreet, exacting, fastidious, finicky, fussy, going to great lengths, guarded, heedful, judicious, leery, meticulous, mindful, observant, particular, playing safe, precise, prim, protective, provident, prudent, punctilious, regardful, religious, rigorous, scrupulous, selfdisciplined, shy, sober, solicitous, solid, thorough, thoughtful, vigilant, wary |
| Antonyms: | careless, inattentive, incautious, thoughtless, uncareful, unconcerned, unscrupulous |
| Main Entry: | conventional |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | unoriginal |
| Synonyms: | bigoted, bourgeois, commonplace, conforming, conservative, demure, doctrinal, dogmatic, drippy, hackneyed, hidebound, humdrum, illiberal, in rut, inflexible, insular, isolationist, lame, literal, moderate, moral, narrow, narrow-minded, not heretical, obstinate, parochial, pedestrian, prosaic, puritanical, rigid, routine, rube, run-of-the-mill, sober, solemn, square, stereotyped, straight, straight-laced, strict, stuffy, uptight |
| Antonyms: | different, exotic, foreign, new, original, strange, unique |
| Main Entry: | defensive |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | protective, watchful |
| Synonyms: | arresting, averting, balking, checking, conservative, coping with, defending, foiling, forestalling, frustrating, guarding, in opposition, interrupting, opposing, preservative, preventive, protecting, resistive, safeguarding, thwarting, uptight*, warding off, withstanding |
| Notes: | defendable means capable of being protected or justified; defensible means capable of being defended or justified; defensive means attempting to justify or defend |
| Antonyms: | undefensive, unprotective, unwary, unwatchful |
| Main Entry: | die-hard |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | uncompromising |
| Synonyms: | Philistine, Tory, conservative, convinced, dyed-in-the-wool, extremist, firm, fogyish, immovable, inflexible, intransigent, old-line, orthodox, reactionary, right, standpat, traditionalistic, ultraconservative, unreconstructed |
| Antonyms: | compromising, conceding, flexible |
| Main Entry: | discreet |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | cautious, sensible |
| Synonyms: | alert, attentive, awake, cagey, calculating, careful, chary, circumspect, civil, conservative, considerate, controlled, diplomatic, discerning, discriminating, gingerly, guarded, having foresight, heedful, intelligent, judicious, like a clam, moderate, noncommittal, not rash, observant, on lookout, politic, precautious, prudent, reasonable, reserved, restrained, safe, sagacious, strategic, tactful, temperate, thoughtful, vigilant, wary, watchful, wise, worldly-wise |
| Notes: | discreet means 'judicious, prudent, showing discernment,' while discrete means 'detached, separate' and 'individually distinct' |
| Antonyms: | careless, foolish, incautious, indiscreet, rash, reckless, thoughtless, uncareful, undiscerning |
| Main Entry: | intolerant |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | impatient, prejudiced |
| Synonyms: | antipathetic, averse, biased, bigoted, chauvinistic, communist, conservative, contemptuous, dictatorial, disdainful, dogmatic, fanatical, fractious, hateful, illiberal, indignant, individualistic, inflexible, irate, irritable, jaundiced, narrow, narrow-minded, obdurate, one-sided, outraged, racialist, racist, short-fuse, small-minded, snappy, stuffy, tilted, uncharitable, unfair, unforbearing, unindulgent, unsympathetic, unwilling, upset, waspish, worked-up, xenophobic |
| Antonyms: | fair, impartial, patient, tolerant, unprejudiced |
| Main Entry: | middle-of-the-road |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | moderate |
| Synonyms: | balanced, cautious, compromising, conservative, controlled, disciplined, even, impartial, indifferent, inexpensive, midway, mild, modest, neutral, noncommittal, nonpartisan, not excessive, on the fence, reasonable, straight |