Definition of "misplaced modifier" []

• A modifying clause or phrase placed so awkwardly as to create ambiguity or misunderstanding. For example, in Streaking through the sky, we watched the rocket reenter the atmosphere, the phrase Streaking through the sky is misplaced. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.