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
Zac Anderson, USA Today, 12 Dec. 2025
However, zinc supplements may be necessary with restrictive diets or specific medical conditions like those impacting your digestive tract.
—Amy Brownstein, Verywell Health, 11 Dec. 2025
The long-standing Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, viewed as the United States’ most restrictive sanctions on Syria since its enactment in 2019, is on the verge of being rolled back, with a full repeal written into the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
—Ashley Carnahan, FOXNews.com, 11 Dec. 2025
The alternative is a significantly more restrictive model that could alter the nation’s demographic and constitutional landscape for generations.
—Robert Alexander, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Dec. 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 15 Dec. 2025.
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restrictive
adjective
Legal Definition
restrictive
adjective
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