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
Kathleen Peddicord, Forbes.com, 3 Aug. 2025
Since that time, attempts to limit access have increased with at least 29 states, including Florida, passing 94 restrictive voting laws, often intentionally or incidentally having their greatest impact on communities of color.
—Kathy Schmitz, The Orlando Sentinel, 3 Aug. 2025
The former currently requires more restrictive or higher rates, given that inflation remains above target, while the latter points to less restrictive or lower rates, because central bankers don't want to see any material increases in joblessness.
—Zev Fima, CNBC, 2 Aug. 2025
Epic was unable to secure a victory against Apple, which has an undeniably more restrictive app store than Google.
—Ryan Whitwam, ArsTechnica, 31 July 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 8 Aug. 2025.
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restrictive
adjective
Legal Definition
restrictive
adjective
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