conventionalists
Followers of norms
People who follow or advocate for established customs, traditions, or accepted standards.
A conventionalist prefers doing things the traditional way rather than experimenting with new approaches: The conventionalists on the committee blocked every proposed reform.
The term often carries a slightly dismissive tone, suggesting rigidity or lack of imagination.
One following accepted norms
- mainstreamDominant cultural current
- properSocially appropriate
- respectableWorthy of regard
- strait-lacedExcessively proper and strict
provincial · hidebound · old-fashioned · buttoned-up · square · staid · prim · decorous
Setting behavioral standards
- prescriptiveDictating correct usage
- dogmaticAsserting opinions as facts
- orthodoxConforming to established belief
- doctrinaireRigidly attached to doctrine
fundamentalist · rigid · absolutist · rule-bound · principled · moralist · purist · literalist
Cautious about altering customs
- right-wingPolitically conservative faction
- RepublicanGOP party member
- ToryBritish right-wing partisan
- establishmentFounded organization or venue
reactionary · orthodox · mainstream · bourgeois · staunch · authoritarian · patriarchal · centrist
Rules of polite conduct
- mannersCustoms of polite conduct
- protocolPrescribed conduct rules
- formalityStrict observance of convention
- proprietyCorrectness of conduct
decorum · customs · observance · ceremony · ritual · prescribed · established · correct
Adherent to established customs
- establishmentFounded organization or venue
- orthodoxyAdherence to accepted beliefs
- continuityUninterrupted progression or coherence
- preservationMaintaining something's condition
heritage · legacy · time-honored · precedent · ancestral · canonical · institutional · entrenched
Careful to avoid risk
- risk-aversePreferring safety over uncertainty
- prudentExercising sound judgment
- hesitantSlow to act
- reservedRestrained in manner
guarded · circumspect · wary · timid · reluctant · unadventurous · unimaginative · predictable
conformist
One following accepted norms
- mainstreamDominant cultural current
- properSocially appropriate
- respectableWorthy of regard
strait-laced · provincial · hidebound · old-fashioned · buttoned-up · square · staid · prim · decorous · genteel
normative
Setting behavioral standards
- prescriptiveDictating correct usage
- dogmaticAsserting opinions as facts
- orthodoxConforming to established belief
doctrinaire · fundamentalist · rigid · absolutist · rule-bound · principled · moralist · purist · literalist · formalist
conservative
Cautious about altering customs
- right-wingPolitically conservative faction
- RepublicanGOP party member
- ToryBritish right-wing partisan
establishment · reactionary · orthodox · mainstream · bourgeois · staunch · authoritarian · patriarchal · centrist · moderate
etiquette
Rules of polite conduct
- mannersCustoms of polite conduct
- protocolPrescribed conduct rules
- formalityStrict observance of convention
propriety · decorum · customs · observance · ceremony · ritual · prescribed · established · correct · appropriate
traditionalist
Adherent to established customs
- establishmentFounded organization or venue
- orthodoxyAdherence to accepted beliefs
- continuityUninterrupted progression or coherence
preservation · heritage · legacy · time-honored · precedent · ancestral · canonical · institutional · entrenched · unchanging
cautious
Careful to avoid risk
- risk-aversePreferring safety over uncertainty
- prudentExercising sound judgment
- hesitantSlow to act
reserved · guarded · circumspect · wary · timid · reluctant · unadventurous · unimaginative · predictable · steady
- Epistemologistsempiricists, rationalists, positivists, constructivists, instrumentalists
conventionalistsrebels
Armed opposition fighters
iconoclasts · nonconformists · radicals · mavericks · dissenters
conventionalistsinnovators
Creators of novel things
progressives · pioneers · trailblazers · originators · reformers
conventionalistsavant-gardists
Radical artistic experimenters
experimentalists · modernists · surrealists · bohemians · eccentrics