Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Conventional and conservative in attitude or style: Describes a person, environment, or approach that is very traditional, formal, and resistant to change or unconventional ideas.
   • Unimaginative and conformist: Emphasizes a lack of creativity, originality, or adventurousness, often associated with strict adherence to established norms, particularly in professional or social settings.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • The company's buttoned-down culture discouraged casual dress and innovative thinking.
  • He was a buttoned-down accountant who never took risks.
  • The buttoned-down atmosphere of the law firm contrasted sharply with the creative energy of the design studio.

Advanced Usage

• "buttoned-down" as a descriptor for institutions: Often used to describe the formal, traditional nature of entire organizations, industries, or social groups.
  • The buttoned-down world of finance is slowly adapting to modern work practices.

Variants and Related Words

• Buttoned-up (adjective): Very similar in meaning, often used interchangeably with "buttoned-down" to describe a conservative, formal, or emotionally reserved demeanor.
  • She has a very buttoned-up personality at work.

Synonyms

• Conventional: Based on or in accordance with what is generally done or believed.
• Conservative: Averse to change or innovation and holding traditional values.
• Staid: Sedate, respectable, and unadventurous.
• Strait-laced: Having or showing very strict moral attitudes.

Antonyms

• Unconventional: Not based on or conforming to what is generally done or believed.
• Bohemian: Socially unconventional in an artistic way.
• Freewheeling: Not constrained by rules or conventions.

Adjective

1. unimaginatively conventional
   • a colorful character in the buttoned-down, dull-grey world of business- Newsweek