definitions

modifier

[ mod-uh-fahy-er ]
/ ˈmɒd əˌfaɪ ər /
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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.

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RELATED WORDS

adjective, adverb, conditioner, transformer, alterant, alterer

Nearby words

modification, modificatory, modified american plan, modified radical mastectomy, modified-release, modifier, modify, modigliani, modigliani, amedeo, modillion, modiolus

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. 2019

Examples from the Web for modifier

British Dictionary definitions for modifier

modifier

/ (ˈmɒdɪˌfaɪə) /

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

modifier

n.

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

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Culture definitions for modifier

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.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.