modifier

[mod-uh-fahy-er]

See more synonyms for modifier on Thesaurus.com

noun

a person or thing that modifies.
Grammar.
1. a word, phrase, or sentence element that limits or qualifies the sense of another word, phrase, or element in the same construction.
2. the immediate constituent of an endocentric construction that is not the head.

Origin of modifier

First recorded in 1575–85; modify + -er¹

Usage note

See dangling participle, misplaced modifier.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for modifier

Contemporary Examples

On the summer programming spectrum, it skewed more towards “just plain silly,” sans the “but still curious” modifier.
WGN’s ‘Manhattan’ Is Summer’s Best New Show. But Will Anyone Watch?
Kevin Fallon
July 27, 2014
But not effortlessly charming, which is usually the modifier when someone uses "charming" as an adjective.
Lena Dunham on 'SNL' Review: Very Funny, Very Dunham-y
Kevin Fallon
March 9, 2014
The ‘Zionist’ modifier is crucial because it differentiates between the situation in Israel/Palestine and Afrikaaner Apartheid.
Levy is Right
Yousef Munayyer
July 13, 2012

Historical Examples

Y is a modifier of X, but unless X is present Y can produce no effect.
Mimicry in Butterflies
Reginald Crundall Punnett
Electricity as a modifier of properties in turn throws flame into eclipse.
Inventors at Work
George Iles
In some of these examples, the predicate adjective has a modifier.
An Advanced English Grammar with Exercises
George Lyman Kittredge
No modifier should be inserted between to and the infinitive.
An Advanced English Grammar with Exercises
George Lyman Kittredge
Eosin may be said to be a modifier of vermilion or vermilion of eosin.
A Critique of the Theory of Evolution
Thomas Hunt Morgan

British Dictionary definitions for modifier

modifier

noun

Also called: qualifier grammar a word or phrase that qualifies the sense of another word; for example, the noun alarm is a modifier of clock in alarm clock and the phrase every day is an adverbial modifier of walks in he walks every day
a person or thing that modifies

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for modifier

n.

1580s, agent noun of modify. Grammatical sense is from 1865.

modifier in Culture

modifier

A word or group of words that describes or limits a verb, noun, adjective, or adverb. Modifiers applied to nouns are adjectives. Modifiers applied to verbs or adjectives are adverbs. Those that are applied to adverbs themselves are also called adverbs.

modifier

Origin of .css-1fxfie5{font-size:22px;}@media (max-width:768px){.css-1fxfie5{font-size:18px;margin:0 10px 10px 0;word-break:break-all;word-wrap:break-word;-webkit-hyphens:auto;-moz-hyphens:auto;-ms-hyphens:auto;hyphens:auto;line-height:22px;}}modifier

Usage note

Examples from the Web for modifier

Contemporary Examples

On the summer programming spectrum, it skewed more towards “just plain silly,” sans the “but still curious” modifier.

But not effortlessly charming, which is usually the modifier when someone uses "charming" as an adjective.

The ‘Zionist’ modifier is crucial because it differentiates between the situation in Israel/Palestine and Afrikaaner Apartheid.

Historical Examples

Y is a modifier of X, but unless X is present Y can produce no effect.

Electricity as a modifier of properties in turn throws flame into eclipse.

In some of these examples, the predicate adjective has a modifier.

No modifier should be inserted between to and the infinitive.

Eosin may be said to be a modifier of vermilion or vermilion of eosin.

modifier

Word Origin and History for modifier

n.

modifier

Origin of modifier