nonrestrictive
Americanadjective
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not restrictive or limiting.
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Grammar. descriptive of a modified element rather than limiting of the element's meaning.
a nonrestrictive modifier.
adjective
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not restrictive or limiting
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grammar denoting a relative clause that is not restrictive Compare restrictive
Etymology
Origin of nonrestrictive
First recorded in 1920–25; non- + restrictive
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A spokesman for Mr. Pence cited nine such states as exceptionally nonrestrictive.
From New York Times • Jul. 22, 2023
Instead, UC will judge those affiliations acceptable as long as patients can be transferred or referred to other nonrestrictive facilities.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 18, 2021
The nonrestrictive dynamic that defines the troop separates it from the two-dozen Cub, Boy and Girl scouts in town.
From Washington Times • Mar. 6, 2015
A nonrestrictive relative clause is set off by commas, dashes or parentheses, as in "The pair of shoes, which cost five thousand dollars, was hideous."
From The Guardian • Aug. 15, 2014
One part of the rule is correct: it’s odd to use that with a nonrestrictive relative clause, as in The pair of shoes, that cost a thousand dollars, was hideous.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
