Word.ws English Dictionary

squinting modifier

squinting modifier noun: a modifier that could apply to either the clause that precedes it or the clause that follows it; an instance of amphiboly.

Noun

squinting modifier (plural squinting modifiers)

  1. A modifier that could apply to either the clause that precedes it or the clause that follows it; an instance of amphiboly.
    • A squinting modifier makes the meaning ambiguous and is, therefore, an error.1983, Marylu Mattson, Sophia Leshing, Elaine Levi, Help Yourself: A Guide to Writing and Rewriting, page 251
    • Do not try to fix a squinting modifier by inserting a comma to make your readers pause.1998, Jill Meryl Levy, Take Command of Your Writing, →ISBN, page 228

Forms of squinting modifier

pluralsquinting modifiers

Questions about squinting modifier

What does squinting modifier mean?
Squinting modifier means a modifier that could apply to either the clause that precedes it or the clause that follows it; an instance of amphiboly.
What part of speech is squinting modifier?
Squinting modifier is a noun.
What is the plural of squinting modifier?
The plural of squinting modifier is squinting modifiers.

Words near squinting modifier in the dictionary

  1. squintiest
  2. squintily
  3. squintiness
  4. squinting
  5. squinting like a bag of nails
  6. squinting modifier
  7. squinting modifiers
  8. squintingly
  9. squintings
  10. squintless
  11. squintly

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: squinting 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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