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 of nontraditional

• unconventional
• modern
• liberal
• progressive
• contemporary
• nonconventional
• radical

Examples of nontraditional in a Sentence

a nontraditional couple who are planning a very unconventional wedding

Recent Examples on the Web

Part of the explanation, Ford said, is that the right weather patterns have produced large tornado outbreaks in nontraditional tornado months, such as March of last year and July 2024. — Adriana Pérez, Chicago Tribune, 19 June 2026

Who knew a nontraditional Big Ten program could overtake the South’s premier venue? — Gabriel Burns, AJC.com, 18 June 2026

How an Emmy award-winning journalist and his husband turned to nontraditional means to build their family on their own terms. — Sugey Palomares, Parents, 18 June 2026

None of her coworkers at the time even knew who Jenner was, but the idea helped plant the seed for how today's prediction markets allow users to bet on nontraditional topics. — Emma Hinchliffe, Fortune, 15 June 2026

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