modify
English
Etymology
From Middle English modifien, from Middle French modifier, from Latin modificare (“to limit, control, regulate, deponent”), from modificari (“to measure off, set bound to, moderate”), from modus (“measure”) + facere (“to make”); see mode.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈmɒdɪfaɪ/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈmɑdɪfaɪ/
Audio (US) (file) - Hyphenation: mod‧i‧fy
Verb
modify (third-person singular simple present modifies, present participle modifying, simple past and past participle modified)
- (transitive) To change part of.
- Her publisher advised her to modify a few parts of the book to make it easier to read.
- (intransitive) To be or become modified.
- (transitive) To set bounds to; to moderate.
- (grammar, transitive) To qualify the meaning of.
- 1977, Linda R. Waugh, A Semantic Analysis of Word Order: Position of the Adjective in French:
- There is inherently no ordering to the modification and no hierarchy of modification: that is, both adjectives modify the substantive and both apply equally to the substantive […]
- 2016, Allen Ascher, The New Harbrace Guide: Genres for Composing:
- Adjectives modify nouns.
-
Conjugation
Conjugation of modify
| infinitive | (to) modify | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| present tense | past tense | ||
| 1st-person singular | modify | modified | |
| 2nd-person singular | modify, modifiest† | modified, modifiedst† | |
| 3rd-person singular | modifies, modifieth† | modified | |
| plural | modify | ||
| subjunctive | modify | modified | |
| imperative | modify | — | |
| participles | modifying | modified | |
†Archaic or obsolete.
Synonyms
- adapt, alter, amend, revamp, rework
Derived terms
- modifier
Related terms
- modification
Translations
to change part of
|
to be or become modified
|
in grammar, to qualify another word or phrase
|
References
- modify in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911
- modify in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
Anagrams
- domify