In North America, it means (traditionalist, nationalist) right-wing whereas liberal means left-leaning. Similar to European definitions
Conservatism: Originally inspired by natural law and formed by the upper-class, conservative parties today are middle-class organisations that seek to preserve established traditions and the current status quo of a society. They normally advocate traditional values as authority, nation, religion, family, stability and continuity. Over the time they incorporated some liberal values, especially on economic issues (free market policies).
From wikipedia
Conservatism in the United States is one of two major political ideologies in the United States, with the other being modern liberalism. Traditional American conservatism is characterized by a belief in individualism, traditionalism, capitalism, republicanism, and limited federal governmental power in relation to U.S. states, although 21st century developments have shifted it towards right-wing populist themes.
In the US, liberal–conservative is synonymous with left–right
American political ideologies conventionally align with the left–right political spectrum, with most Americans identifying as conservative, liberal, or moderate.
Americans’ ideological identification was steady in 2024, with an average of 37% describing their political views as “very conservative” or “conservative,” 34% as “moderate,” and 25% as “very liberal” or “liberal.”
However, much of lemmy seems to deny that conventional alignment exists: I don’t know if that’s basic ignorance or tankie disinfo/stupidity.
That image of text that breaks accessibility, searchability, & fault tolerance for no compelling reason while making the web less usable would have been far better as proper text.