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

Golden lived with his mother and grandmother growing up and occasionally lived in hotels and other nontraditional housing. —Matt Schneidman, New York Times, 25 Apr. 2025

As solid color gowns continue to go mainstream, colorful florals, whether printed or embellished, are destined to be the next frontier for nontraditional brides looking to stand out. —Emily Mercer, Footwear News, 23 Apr. 2025

Guy Fieri was not in attendance. January 2022: During a visit to The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Stewart teases that her wedding will likely be nontraditional. —Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 21 Apr. 2025

The trade-offs, notably the nontraditional ThinkPad keyboard feel, are worth weighing. —PC Magazine, 21 Apr. 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