Skip to main content
nonrestrictive

nonrestrictive

1 7.5
A clause that adds extra information and is not needed to say which one
  • adjective
  • /ˌnɒn.rɪˈstrɪk.tɪv/
  • Specialized
translation icon : no restrictivo
  • Wearing nonrestrictive clothing helps you move more freely during exercise.
  • nonrestrictive clothing

Examples

  • A nonrestrictive clause, which adds extra information, is set off by commas.

  • An unskilled writer will sometimes construct a whole paragraph of sentences of this kind, using as connectives and, but, and less frequently, who, which, when, where, and while, these last in nonrestrictive senses.

    Academic text (2005)
  • This task force had produced a document that presented a nonrestrictive view of the term.

    Academic text (1998)
  • Which is nonrestrictive, meaning it is information that could be removed without destroying the meaning of the sentence.

    Academic text (2002)
  • Along about here is where I finally put my foot down (upon something besides sandburs), announcing to one and all that the cat in the family would no longer be on a nonrestrictive diet.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • The parameters of the challenge allow students to explore and experiment in a nonrestrictive environment, breaking away from the prescriptive methods employed in many CAD lessons.

    Academic text (2011)
  • In English, a nonrestrictive relative clause provides additional details without limiting the noun it describes.

Antonyms

52 4.7

Limits what people can do by rules or laws

Compounds

nonrestrictive clause
  • Specialized
6.8

A part of a sentence that gives more information about a noun but does not change which noun we mean

How Restrictive

restrictive
52 4.7
nonrestrictive
  • Specialized
1 7.5

Surface Forms

nonrestrictive positive

Morphology

nonrestrictive = restrictive (transparent) = non + restrict + ive

The productive prefix 'non-' simply negates the adjective 'restrictive', yielding 'not restrictive' with no meaning shift.

Etymology

Nonrestrictive breaks into non- meaning 'not' and restrictive meaning 'limiting', like the words restrict or restriction. So a nonrestrictive clause 'does not limit' the meaning of the noun but only adds extra information, and it is often set off by commas.