Standard Lemma guide

restrictive

adj · noun · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • /ɹɪˈstɹɪktɪv/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɪktɪv
  • CMU ARPABET: R IY0 S T R IH1 K T IH0 V Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Confining, limiting, containing within defined bounds.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

limiting free and easy bodily movement.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Qualifier: Of clothing

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A clause that narrows the meaning of a noun or noun phrase.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: grammar, human-sciences, linguistics, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

adjective

Meaning 4

serving to restrict

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • teenagers eager to escape restrictive home environments

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: unrestrictive

5

adjective satellite

Meaning 5

(of tariff) protective of national interests by restricting imports

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From Middle French restrictif. Morphologically restrict + -ive.

Across languages

Translations

45 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: تَقْيِيدِيّ (taqyīdiyy) — confining; limiting
  • Belarusian: абме́жавальны (abmjéžavalʹny) — confining; limiting
  • Bulgarian: ограничи́телен (ograničítelen) — confining; limiting
  • Catalan: restrictiu — confining; limiting
  • Chinese Mandarin: 限制性 (xiànzhìxìng) — confining; limiting
  • Czech: omezující — confining; limiting
  • Czech: restriktivní — confining; limiting
  • Danish: restriktive — confining; limiting
  • Dutch: beperkend — confining; limiting
  • Estonian: piiravate — confining; limiting
  • Finnish: rajoittava — confining; limiting
  • French: restrictif — confining; limiting
  • German: einschränkend — confining; limiting
  • German: restriktiv — confining; limiting
  • Greek: περιοριστική (perioristikí) — confining; limiting
  • Hindi: प्रतिबंधात्मक (pratibandhātmak) — confining; limiting
  • Hungarian: korlátozó — confining; limiting
  • Indonesian: ketat — confining; limiting
  • Italian: restrittivo — confining; limiting
  • Japanese: 限定的 (genteiteki) — confining; limiting
  • Korean: 한정적인 (hanjeongjeog-in) — confining; limiting
  • Korean: 제한하는 (jehanhaneun) — confining; limiting
  • Latin: restrictivus — confining; limiting
  • Latvian: ierobežojošus — confining; limiting
  • Lithuanian: ribojančių — confining; limiting
  • Macedonian: ограничителен (ograničitelen) — confining; limiting
  • Macedonian: рестриктивен (restriktiven) — confining; limiting
  • Malay: ketat — confining; limiting
  • Norwegian Bokmål: restriktiv — confining; limiting
  • Persian: محدود (mahdud) — confining; limiting
  • Polish: ograniczający — confining; limiting
  • Polish: restrykcyjny — confining; limiting
  • Portuguese: restritivo — confining; limiting
  • Romanian: restrictiv — confining; limiting
  • Russian: ограничи́тельный (ograničítelʹnyj) — confining; limiting
  • Serbo-Croatian: рестриктиван — confining; limiting
  • Serbo-Croatian: restriktivan — confining; limiting
  • Slovak: obmedzujúci — confining; limiting
  • Slovene: omejevalen — confining; limiting
  • Spanish: restrictivo — confining; limiting
  • Thai: จํากัด (jam-gàt) — confining; limiting
  • Turkish: kısıtlayıcı — confining; limiting
  • Ukrainian: обме́жувальний (obméžuvalʹnyj) — confining; limiting
  • Urdu: مؤکد — confining; limiting
  • Vietnamese: hạn chế — confining; limiting
Real reading context

restrictive in complete knowledge articles