Word.ws English Dictionary

dangling modifier

dangling modifier noun: a word or clause that qualifies another word or clause ambiguously, sometimes causing confusion (as to which meaning was intended) or (more often) causing unintended humorousness.

Noun

dangling modifier (plural dangling modifiers)

  1. A word or clause that qualifies another word or clause ambiguously, sometimes causing confusion (as to which meaning was intended) or (more often) causing unintended humorousness.
    • The dangling modifier is a curse of modern writing, particularly obituaries.2004, Wynford Hicks, Quite Literally: Problem Words and how to Use Them, Psychology Press, →ISBN, page 45
    Synonyms:
    dangler

Synonyms of dangling modifier

Forms of dangling modifier

pluraldangling modifiers

Questions about dangling modifier

What does dangling modifier mean?
Dangling modifier means a word or clause that qualifies another word or clause ambiguously, sometimes causing confusion (as to which meaning was intended) or (more often) causing unintended humorousness.
What part of speech is dangling modifier?
Dangling modifier is a noun.
What is the plural of dangling modifier?
The plural of dangling modifier is dangling modifiers.

Words near dangling modifier in the dictionary

  1. dangling after
  2. dangling else
  3. dangling elses
  4. dangling link
  5. dangling links
  6. dangling modifier
  7. dangling modifiers
  8. dangling participle
  9. dangling participles
  10. dangling pointer
  11. dangling pointers

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: dangling modifier (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-dangling modifier.wav.

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