restrictive

restrictive — adjective

1. placing limits on what people or things are allowed to do, often making it diffi

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

placing limits on what people or things are allowed to do, often making it difficult for them to act freely or to develop

Example

The school's restrictive dress code does not allow students to wear shorts.

collocation: restrictive dress code / restrictive rules

Otis felt the restrictive rules at his new job were unfair to part-time workers.

Common collocations
  • restrictive rules
  • restrictive laws
  • restrictive policy
  • restrictive measures
  • restrictive contract
  • restrictive dress code
  • restrictive trade
Synonyms
  • limiting

    more general, less formal; 'limiting rules' sounds natural but weaker in force

  • confining

    emphasises physical or spatial restriction; 'a confining office'

  • constraining

    suggests pressure or force that holds back; 'constraining regulations'

Antonyms
  • permissive

    allows a lot of freedom; 'a permissive policy'

  • lenient

    not strict; 'lenient rules'

Usage Note

Commonly paired with nouns describing rules, conditions, or environments that control behaviour or limit options.

Common Mistakes

The teacher was very restrictive with the students.
The teacher had very restrictive rules for the students.
'restrictive' describes the rules or conditions, not the person who enforces them.

2. (in grammar) describing a clause, modifier, or other structure that identifies w

2.adjectiveC1
Definition

(in grammar) describing a clause, modifier, or other structure that identifies which specific person or thing is being referred to, rather than adding extra descriptive information — for example, the clause 'who sits next to me' in 'The student who sits next to me is from Japan'

Example

In 'The man who lives next door is a doctor', the clause is restrictive.

restrictive relative clause identifying a specific person

A restrictive relative clause tells the reader which person or thing the writer means.

Common collocations
  • restrictive relative clause
  • restrictive modifier
  • restrictive clause
  • restrictive appositive
Synonyms
  • defining

    more common in British grammar teaching; 'a defining relative clause'

  • identifying

    focuses on the clause's function of picking out one specific referent

Antonyms
  • non-restrictive

    adds extra information and is set off by commas; 'a non-restrictive relative clause'

Usage Note

This sense is used primarily in grammar instruction and linguistic analysis. The opposite term is non-restrictive — a non-restrictive clause adds extra information and is set off by commas.

Common Mistakes

The restrictive clause gives extra information.
A restrictive clause tells you which one; a non-restrictive clause adds extra information.
The two types have opposite functions.

Word family

  • restrict
    verbB2
  • restriction
    nounB2
  • restrictively
    adverbC1
  • unrestricted
    adjectiveC1
  • restrictionist
    nounC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Restrictive is the most common of these adjectives and carries a neutral-to-negative tone about rules or conditions that limit freedom. Limiting is the broadest and most casual term — a limiting factor might simply reduce possibilities without implying unfairness. Confining adds a sense of physical or spatial enclosure, as in a confining small room or confining job that keeps you at a desk. Constraining is closer to restrictive but emphasises external pressure or force that prevents natural movement or growth; constraining regulations feel tighter than merely restrictive ones. In everyday use, restrictive is best for rules and policies, while confining works for physical spaces and constraining for pressures that suppress development.

limitingconfiningconstrainingrestrictive ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • restrictive measures
  • restrictive policies
  • restrictive conditions

Adverbs

  • highly restrictive
  • too restrictive
  • overly restrictive
  • unduly restrictive

Phrases

  • more restrictive than
  • less restrictive than

Prepositions

  • restrictive of
  • restrictive in

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

From Latin restrictus, meaning 'drawn tight, bound back' — the past participle of restringere ('to bind back, restrain'). Restringere combines re- ('back') and stringere ('to draw tight, bind'). The word entered English in the early 1400s with the sense of 'serving to restrain', and the grammatical meaning emerged in the 20th century.