traditional
adjective · noun
Simple meaning
Attached to old customs.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
truhdishuhnuhlSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
tɹəˈdɪʃənəl
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
Of, relating to, or derived from tradition.
Consisting of or derived from tradition
Observant of tradition; attached to old customs; old-fashioned.
Relating to traditional Chinese.
Communicated from ancestors to descendants by word only.
In lieu of the name of the composer of a piece of music, whose real name is lost in the mists of time.
noun
informaluncountable
Art that is a part of the culture of a group of people, skills and knowledge of which are passed down through generations from master craftsmen to apprentices.
usually in the plural
Anything that is traditional, conventional, standard.
A person with traditional beliefs.
informaluncountable
Ellipsis of traditional Chinese.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A1 · Beginner (estimated)
- Frequency
- Very Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Of, relating to, or derived from tradition.
Used this way, traditional is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use traditional
- “Traditional history.”adjective
Share your sentence
Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Knowledge gained through tradition or anecdote.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: art that is a part of the culture of a group of people
Antonyms
Sense: of or relating to or or derived from tradition
Use This Word
See how this word sounds in a real sentence.
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Knowing “traditional” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.
Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.
