n. [ L. conventio: cf. F. convention. See Convene, v. i. ] 1. The act of coming together; the state of being together; union; coalition. [ 1913 Webster ]

The conventions or associations of several particles of matter into bodies of any certain denomination. Boyle. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. General agreement or concurrence; arbitrary custom; usage; conventionality. [ 1913 Webster ]

There are thousands now
Such women, but convention beats them down. Tennyson. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A meeting or an assembly of persons, esp. of delegates or representatives, to accomplish some specific object, -- civil, social, political, or ecclesiastical. [ 1913 Webster ]

He set himself to the making of good laws in a grand convention of his nobles. Sir R. Baker. [ 1913 Webster ]

A convention of delegates from all the States, to meet in Philadelphia, for the sole and express purpose of reserving the federal system, and correcting its defects. W. Irving. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Eng. Hist) An extraordinary assembly of the parkiament or estates of the realm, held without the king's writ, -- as the assembly which restored Charles II. to the throne, and that which declared the throne to be abdicated by James II. [ 1913 Webster ]

Our gratitude is due . . . to the Long Parliament, to the Convention, and to William of Orange. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. An agreement or contract less formal than, or preliminary to, a treaty; an informal compact, as between commanders of armies in respect to suspension of hostilities, or between states; also, a formal agreement between governments or sovereign powers; as, a postal convention between two governments. [ 1913 Webster ]

This convention, I think from my soul, is nothing but a stipulation for national ignominy; a truce without a suspension of hostilities. Ld. Chatham. [ 1913 Webster ]

The convention with the State of Georgia has been ratified by their Legislature. T. Jefferson. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. conventionalis: cf. F. conventionnel. ] 1. Formed by agreement or compact; stipulated. [ 1913 Webster ]

Conventional services reserved by tenures upon grants, made out of the crown or knights' service. Sir M. Hale. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Growing out of, or depending on, custom or tacit agreement; sanctioned by general concurrence or usage; formal. “Conventional decorum.” Whewell. [ 1913 Webster ]

The conventional language appropriated to monarchs. Motley. [ 1913 Webster ]

The ordinary salutations, and other points of social behavior, are conventional. Latham. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Fine Arts) (a) Based upon tradition, whether religious and historical or of artistic rules. (b) Abstracted; removed from close representation of nature by the deliberate selection of what is to be represented and what is to be rejected; as, a conventional flower; a conventional shell. Cf. Conventionalize, v. t. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. to make conventional.
Syn. -- conventionalize. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. 1. That which is received or established by convention or arbitrary agreement; that which is in accordance with the fashion, tradition, or usage. [ 1913 Webster ]

All the artifice and conventionalism of life. Hawthorne. [ 1913 Webster ]

They gaze on all with dead, dim eyes, -- wrapped in conventionalisms, . . . simulating feelings according to a received standard. F. W. Robertson. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Fine Arts) The principles or practice of conventionalizing. See Conventionalize, v. t. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. One who adheres to a convention or treaty. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. One who is governed by conventionalism. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Conventionalities The state of being conventional; adherence to social formalities or usages; that which is established by conventional use; one of the customary usages of social life. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Fine Arts) (a) The act of making conventional. (b) The state of being conventional. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. (Fine Arts) To make designs in art, according to conventional principles. Cf. Conventionalize, v. t., 2. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Conventionalized p. pr. & vb. n. Conventionalizing. ] 1. To make conventional; to bring under the influence of, or cause to conform to, conventional rules; to establish by usage. [ Also spelled conventionalise. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Fine Arts) (a) To represent by selecting the important features and those which are expressible in the medium employed, and omitting the others. (b) To represent according to an established principle, whether religious or traditional, or based upon certain artistic rules of supposed importance. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In a conventional manner. [ 1913 Webster ]