restrictive

adjective

re·​stric·​tive ri-ˈstrik-tiv 

1

a

: of or relating to restriction

b

: serving or tending to restrict

restrictive regulations

2

: limiting the reference of a modified word or phrase

3

: prohibiting further negotiation

restrictive noun

restrictively adverb

restrictiveness noun

Did you know?

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

In the sentence “The book that you ordered is out of print,” “that you ordered” is a restrictive clause.

Recent Examples on the Web

Illinois law sets statewide standards for wind and solar farm siting and says local ordinances cannot be more restrictive than the state standards. —Michelle Mullins, Chicago Tribune, 21 Mar. 2025

Related card Trump administration pauses $175 million in federal funding to UPenn over transgender athlete policies Sure enough, the rules posted online had become more restrictive, matching regulations from World Athletics. —Brynn Gingras, CNN, 20 Mar. 2025

Quant, whose name was synonymous with London’s Swinging ’60s and its fashion, offered young women a new, more liberated way of dressing, free from the girdles and restrictive undergarments that their mothers and grandmothers had worn. —Hikmat Mohammed, WWD, 18 Mar. 2025

Trump sought a series of restrictive moves in response: the suspension of security clearances for anybody working for Perkins Coie; a prohibition on government goods, services or facilities being supplied for the firm’s use; and the termination of any government contracts with the firm. —Niall Stanage, The Hill, 14 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1579, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing restrictive

• restrictive clause

Rhymes for restrictive

• addictive
• constrictive
• predictive
• vindictive
• fictive
• magnetostrictive

Kids Definition

restrictive

adjective

re·​stric·​tive ri-ˈstrik-tiv 

1

: serving or likely to restrict

2

: limiting the reference of a modified word or phrase

restrictive noun

restrictively adverb

restrictiveness noun

Legal Definition

restrictive

adjective

re·​stric·​tive ri-ˈstrik-tiv 

1

a

: of or relating to restriction

b

: serving or tending to restrict

2

: prohibiting further negotiation

restrictively adverb

restrictiveness noun