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modifier

Syllabification: (mod·i·fi·er)
Pronunciation: /ˈmädəˌfīər/

Translate modifier | into Italian
Definition of modifier

noun

  • a person or thing that makes partial or minor changes to something.
  • Grammar a word, especially an adjective or noun used attributively, that restricts or adds to the sense of a head noun (e.g., good and family in a good family house).
  • Genetics a gene that modifies the phenotypic expression of a gene at another locus.

Grammar

In grammar, to modify is to change or add to the meaning of another word. A modifier is a word or group of words that does this. Adjectives modify nouns. Nouns can also be modified by other nouns and by prepositional phrases.In the examples that follow, the modifiers are printed in bold.Edgar Degas favored his studio to the open (adjective) air, preferring to paint at the racecourse and in ballet (noun) studios. There was a smear of mud (prepositional phrase) on his nose. Adverbs modify adjectives.Isabella can very (adverb) easily come across as a snob. Modifiers that come before the word they modify are referred to as premodifiers:Those that follow the word they modify are postmodifiers:a smear of mud See also noun phrase, adjective phrase, adverb phrase.

modifier in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of modifier in the British & World English dictionary
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kempt

/ kɛm(p)t /
adjective
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