traditional

adjective

tra·di·tion·al | \ trə-ˈdish-nəl

, -ˈdi-shə-nᵊl\

Definition of traditional

1 : of or relating to tradition : consisting of or derived from tradition a traditional celebration

2 : handed down from age to age traditional history traditional songs/stories

3 : following or conforming to tradition : adhering to past practices or established conventions traditional morality traditional values/beliefs employing traditional methods of cooking

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Examples of traditional in a Sentence

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The struggling maker of Schick razors is buying Harry’s Inc., an upstart rival that started selling razors online and has recently expanded into traditional retail stores. — Allison Prang, WSJ, "Maker of Schick Razors to Buy Upstart Harry’s," 9 May 2019 The couple is having a traditional Indian wedding, which typically involves several days of activities and celebrations. — Mekita Rivas, Teen Vogue, "Everything Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas Wore During Their Wedding Celebrations," 29 Nov. 2018 In a traditional vehicle, every seat (typically) faces forward—certainly those facing airbags do. — Alexander Stoklosa, Car and Driver, "The Mercedes-Benz ESF Is a One-Car Showcase of the Way Safety Will Look in Vehicles of the Future," 20 May 2019 The idea for Beyoncé's performance came from traditional homecoming celebrations at HBCUs (historically black colleges and universities). — Carolyn Twersky, Seventeen, "Twitter is Accusing Taylor Swift of Copying Beyoncé's Homecoming Performance at the 2019 BBMAs," 2 May 2019 In the first image, Dany's hair is pulled back into her traditional braided half-up style—a braid for every victory in battle. — Jenna Rosenstein, Harper's BAZAAR, "Did You Catch This Major Hair Mistake in the Game of Thrones Premiere?," 17 Apr. 2019 Artists who lived across the chasm of World War II often rebelled against traditional forms, taking up the standards of savage irony and deconstruction. — Sam Sacks, WSJ, "Fiction: A Memorial Tablet in Viale Cavour," 21 Dec. 2018 This has been confirmed by reports from real-world battery use in Australia, where the massive Tesla battery at the Hornsdale Wind Farm has been used to maintain grid frequency, rather than replacing more traditional forms of electricity generation. — Megan Geuss, Ars Technica, "New year, same story: Cost of wind and solar fall below cost of coal and gas," 12 Nov. 2018 Some are the old-guard names — Jerry Falwell Jr., Franklin Graham — associated with a more traditional form of evangelicalism and the rise of the moral majority. — Tara Isabella Burton, Vox, "Historian and author John Fea on Trump’s “court evangelicals” and the long history of Christian nationalism.," 5 Nov. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'traditional.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Dictionary Entries near traditional

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Last Updated

6 Jun 2019

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Time Traveler for traditional

The first known use of traditional was in 1545

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More Definitions for traditional

traditional

adjective

English Language Learners Definition of traditional

: based on a way of thinking, behaving, or doing something that has been used by the people in a particular group, family, society, etc., for a long time : following the tradition of a certain group or culture

: typical or normal for something or someone : having the qualities, beliefs, etc., that are usual or expected in a particular type of person or thing

: based on old-fashioned ideas : not new, different, or modern

See the full definition for traditional in the English Language Learners Dictionary

traditional

adjective

tra·di·tion·al | \ trə-ˈdi-shə-nᵊl\