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.
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
What follows, to quote the stylebook, is “a nonrestrictive clause — one providing added information, not essential to understand the sentence.”
From New York Times ● Dec. 9, 2014
The choice between "that" and "which", according to the rule, is simple: nonrestrictive relative clauses take "which"; restrictive relative clauses take "that".
From The Guardian ● Aug. 15, 2014
A nonrestrictive relative clause is set offby commas, dashes, or parentheses, and expresses a comment from the peanut gallery, as in The pair of shoes, which cost five 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.
