restrictive
adjective
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Restrictive covenants (that is, agreements) in real-estate deeds were once used to forbid the buyer from ever selling the property to anyone of another race. These are now illegal, though other kinds of restrictive covenants are very common; in some neighborhoods, they may even tell you what colors you can't paint your house. In grammar, a restrictive clause is one that limits the meaning of something that comes before it. In the sentence "That's the professor who I'm trying to avoid", "who I'm trying to avoid" is a restrictive clause, since it's what identifies the professor. But in the sentence "That's my History professor, who I'm trying to avoid", the same clause is nonrestrictive, since the professor has already been identified as "my History professor". There should always be a comma before a nonrestrictive clause, but not before a restrictive clause.
Examples of restrictive in a Sentence
Jason Povio, Forbes, 13 Mar. 2025
Basic fares: Southwest is adding a cheaper — and more restrictive — basic economy fare.
—Jason Stauffer, CNBC, 12 Mar. 2025
States like Alabama, Tennessee, and Louisiana became more attractive to employers during the pandemic as locations for new facilities due to less restrictive policies, lower cost-of-living, and more opportunity for growth.
—Faisal Kutty, Newsweek, 12 Mar. 2025
Other changes, such as the introduction of a more restrictive Basic Economy fare (similar to those offered by American, Delta, and United), could be frustrating for travelers, especially those who appreciated that Southwest didn’t have confusing ticket tiers.
—Bailey Berg, AFAR Media, 11 Mar. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Restrictive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/restrictive. Accessed 19 Mar. 2025.
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restrictive
adjective
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restrictive
adjective
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