How to Use modifier in a Sentence

modifier

noun
  • Sure, the name isn't flashy with cliché adjectives and modifiers.
    Carey Polis, Bon Appetit, 29 Aug. 2017
  • Compound modifiers come fast and easy for french fries cut by hand, then fried twice and dusted with coarse salt and herbs for $3.
    Mike Sutter, ExpressNews.com, 22 Nov. 2019
  • But the lazy remedy, merely to move a modifier one word left or right, is worse.
    The Economist, 26 Apr. 2018
  • For instance, a writer couldn't go all Samantha Bee or use a curse word as a modifier.
    Jeff Wilson, star-telegram, 1 June 2018
  • Any little modifier that takes the blanket out of the statement can make a big difference in tone.
    Steve Hartman, CBS News, 8 July 2016
  • With dozens of brands of almost every spirit now available, not to mention the flood of vermouths and other modifiers, there’s a lot of pressure to pick the right one.
    Anne Brockhoff, kansascity, 20 Feb. 2018
  • These can include antihistamines (which come in pills, nasal sprays, and eye drops), steroid nasal sprays, mast cell inhibitors, and leukotriene modifiers.
    Marisa Cohen, Good Housekeeping, 19 June 2019
  • And yes, that's the we-can-print-that-name-in-a-family newspaper name, although fans know the tune as sporting a bit more colorful modifier in both the title and lyrics.
    Michael Heaton, cleveland.com, 29 Mar. 2018
  • Surbaugh predicted that both boys and girls in Scouts BSA would refer to themselves simply as scouts, rather than adding ‘‘boy’’ or ‘‘girl’’ as a modifier.
    David Crary, BostonGlobe.com, 2 May 2018
  • Pompoms and studded fringe, O.K., but the 1,001 straps on almost every garment were a dangling modifier too far.
    Vanessa Friedman, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2017
  • His Morale & Welfare employs over-proof dark rum and modifiers that run the gamut: tart lime, slightly sweeter grapefruit, zesty cinnamon, and rich mole bitters.
    Liza Weisstuch, BostonGlobe.com, 17 June 2019
  • Given a little longer to ponder, Baldwin might have summoned up some even more damning modifiers.
    Larry Stone, The Seattle Times, 18 Sep. 2017
  • But in the Pathfinder playtest, there was no static initiative modifier.
    Sam Ferguson, Ars Technica, 30 July 2019
  • The classic drink has quite a few sweet modifiers (like orange curaçao and pomegranate) and the heavier alcohol, at 45 percent, helps cut through that sweetness.
    Sam Dangremond, Town & Country, 15 Apr. 2017
  • Most damage-dealing projectile sizes have been increased by a new global modifier added to their base size.
    Kris Holt, Forbes, 12 Feb. 2024
  • There are two exceptions to this, though: running down the left side of your iPad’s screen is a sidebar that includes modifier keys (command, option, control, and shift) and an undo button.
    Chris Welch, The Verge, 24 June 2019
  • The basic mechanic is a little like War, with the higher number winning, but there are lots of modifiers (condiments, for example) which can give you an advantage in the battle.
    Jonathan H. Liu, WIRED, 31 Aug. 2011
  • Even without the now almost ubiquitous modifier toxic in front of it, masculinity has become a dirty word.
    Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 31 Oct. 2019
  • No Match Game – Bungie has killed off one of Destiny’s most exhausting modifiers, which makes shields borderline immune to non-matching weapons in higher difficulties.
    Paul Tassi, Forbes, 18 Feb. 2023
  • For its prowess, the liquor store lobby is frequently described with one modifier — powerful.
    Robert King, Indianapolis Star, 20 Oct. 2017
  • The Starbucks in the airport is my chance to order an inexplicably fussy beverage with multiple modifiers.
    Nicole Rucker, Bon Appétit, 22 Oct. 2019
  • During some rounds, teams will be impacted by modifiers such as a health boost to enemy ships or the inability to regain energy needed to recover shields.
    Gieson Cacho, The Mercury News, 15 May 2017
  • So all of that awaits the receptive viewer, along with a dangling modifier of an ending guaranteed to satisfy virtually no one.
    Michael Phillips, The Mercury News, 22 Mar. 2017
  • Would-be weather modifiers conducted a series of expensive field experiments, seeding massive storm clouds over the course of many seasons in different parts of the United States.
    Kathryn Phillips, Discover Magazine, 11 Nov. 2019
  • Of course, split infinitives, dangling modifiers, and subject-verb disagreements have always appeared wherever words are uttered or keys are stroked.
    Jake Cline, The Atlantic, 10 Aug. 2019
  • For years, the description of Venezuela’s government has come with a host of modifiers, from an illiberal democracy to democratic socialism.
    Whitney Eulich, The Christian Science Monitor, 11 May 2017
  • Key to this is the modifier to the term that’s often dropped in casual conversation: relative humidity.
    Angela Fritz, Washington Post, 12 July 2017
  • In most d20-based games, every character has an initiative modifier.
    Sam Ferguson, Ars Technica, 30 July 2019
  • Its technical manager Wynand Nortje says its method of melting the plastic into the bitumen modifier minimizes the risk of microplastics.
    Emma Reynolds, CNN, 30 Oct. 2019
  • Those include the installation of friction modifiers on the track surface and additional ballast material beneath the rails, according to CSX.
    Washington Post, 26 May 2018

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'modifier.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: