modifier

American  

[mod-uh-fahy-er] / ˈmɒd əˌfaɪ ər /

noun

• modifiers
  plural

1. a person or thing that modifies.

2. 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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modifier British  

/ ˈmɒdɪˌfaɪə /

noun

1. 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

2. a person or thing that modifies

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modifier Cultural  

1. 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.

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Grammar

See dangling participle, misplaced modifier.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• modifiers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of modifier

First recorded in 1575–85; modify + -er ¹

Explanation

A modifier is a word that describes or changes another word. Adjectives and adverbs are fun modifiers. They can turn a “man” into a “strange man” or make him “act strangely.” To modify is to change slightly, so a modifier is anything that makes this change. Modifiers are popular in grammar land, but you could say that chocolate is a mood modifier, for example. An editor, who alters a few sentences, can be described as a modifier of the original manuscript. In the world of science, a modifier is a kind of gene that changes the effect of another gene. Modifier comes from the Latin word modificare, "to limit or restrain."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

modifier modifiers

But Helen Knight, NICE’s director of medicines evaluation, argues that the severity modifier is working.

From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2024

Engineered bacteria can produce a plastic modifier that makes renewably sourced plastic more processable, more fracture resistant and highly biodegradable even in sea water.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 9, 2024

“Recycled is a positive modifier in most contexts but that isn’t necessarily the case when it comes to gold or silver,” she said.

From New York Times ● Jan. 29, 2024

Lynch’s dystopian novel, which won the Booker Prize on Sunday, is at once so particularly Irish yet so universally familiar that it deserves the overused modifier “Kafkaesque.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 29, 2023

Laurie had to have a quart of fresh milk every day and the milk modifier was expensive.

From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith

He seldom refers to coal without the modifiers “clean” and “beautiful.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 5, 2026

At the same time, management described customization as a $1 billion-a-year business, built on high-margin modifiers such as cold foam, milk alternatives, and protein add-ins that allow customers to personalize nearly every beverage.

From Barron's ● Jan. 29, 2026

However, these traditional rheological modifiers have raised environmental concerns regarding sourcing and sustainability.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 25, 2024

“We have found a number of so-called modifiers among the European population, and these are targets for new drugs,” said Dr. Cristina Sampaio, CHDI’s chief medical officer.

From New York Times ● May 23, 2023

Brittney is the kind of person for whom active verbs and modifiers were invented.

From "The Misfits" by James Howe