nontraditional

adjective

non·​tra·​di·​tion·​al ˌnän-trə-ˈdish-nəl 

-ˈdi-shə-nᵊl

: not following or conforming to tradition : not adhering to past practices or conventions : not traditional

a nontraditional family

nontraditional students

nontraditional menu items

Many use nontraditional teaching techniques, and they deliberately draw their students from beyond traditional neighborhood boundaries …

—Thomas Toch

nontraditionally adverb

… to learn how to build and sell cars nontraditionally …

—Michael Schrage

Synonyms

• broad-minded
• liberal
• nonconventional
• nonorthodox
• open-minded
• progressive
• radical
• unconventional
• unorthodox

Examples of nontraditional in a Sentence

a nontraditional couple who are planning a very unconventional wedding

Recent Examples on the Web

Diverse consumers and nontraditional retail investors - including women, young people, the working class - are leading national adoption of cryptocurrency. —Cleve Mesidor, Forbes.com, 25 June 2025

Once opposed to nontraditional station guests, NASA now throws out the welcome mat, charging for their food and upkeep while insisting that an experienced astronaut accompany them. —Sydney Lake, Fortune, 25 June 2025

The bill would also reduce per-student funding for nontraditional charter schools by 30% and prevent charter schools from allocating funds to support home-schooling students. —Windi Eklund, Oc Register, 17 June 2025

Second, nontraditional finance offers something many banks can’t: speed and flexibility. —Liquidia, USA Today, 5 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1915, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing nontraditional

• nontraditional family
• nontraditional student

Rhymes for nontraditional

• compositional
• definitional
• depositional
• dispositional
• intuitional
• oppositional
• prepositional
• propositional
• unconditional
• additional
• conditional
• nutritional