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
Nelson Lim, Fortune, 10 Oct. 2025
This has created a ratchet in the direction of more restrictive corporate speech policies.
—Jeremy Lott, The Washington Examiner, 10 Oct. 2025
The best way to do this is not with a restrictive view of a library but with an open one, to recognize that books teach young people about the world.
—Anna Kaufman, USA Today, 9 Oct. 2025
In some ways, the NHL’s cap model is even more restrictive than the curbs in other leagues.
—Brett Knight, Forbes.com, 7 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for restrictive
Cite this Entry
“Restrictive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/restrictive. Accessed 17 Oct. 2025.
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restrictive
adjective
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restrictive
adjective
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