modernize
Americanverb (used with object)
-
modernizes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
modernized,
past participle, past
-
modernizing
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
modernizes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
modernized,
past participle, past
-
modernizing
present participle
verb
-
(tr) to make modern in appearance or style
to modernize a room
-
(intr) to adopt modern ways, ideas, etc
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
modernizesimple
-
modernizessimple
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have modernizedperfect
-
has modernizedperfect
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am modernizingprogressive
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are modernizingprogressive
-
is modernizingprogressive
-
have been modernizingperfect progressive
-
has been modernizingperfect progressive
Past
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modernizedsimple
-
had modernizedperfect
-
was modernizingprogressive
-
were modernizingprogressive
-
had been modernizingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of modernize
First recorded in 1740–50; modern(ism) + -ize
Explanation
To modernize is to adjust or improve something, especially in a way that uses new technology. You might modernize your grandmother's kitchen by buying her a microwave and an espresso machine. When you modernize something, you bring it up to date. You could modernize your office by buying new computers, for example, or modernize your antique car by installing seat belts and a stereo. At the heart of modernize is the adjective modern, "relating to the present time" or "up-to-date." In Shakepeare, the word modern is often used to mean "ordinary," although today there's more of a sense of "the very latest technology."
Vocabulary lists containing modernize
Automobiles
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Absolutism and Enlightenment, Lessons 1–4
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for December 18–December 24, 2021
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Washington says the company has also worked with Russian defense entities to modernize Soviet-era weapons systems.
From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026
“We are a business that is trying to innovate and modernize the retail experience.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
When Julie Masino became Cracker Barrel’s CEO in 2023, she arrived with plans to modernize a restaurant chain known for breakfast, meatloaf, rocking chairs and a homespun atmosphere.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
The restaurant’s building is set to be demolished shortly after its final day of operation as part of the $600-million revitalization project that will modernize the harbor and bring new restaurants, hotels and shops.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026
In 1876, elected President of Bowdoin College, where he attempts to modernize the school, introducing courses in science, de-emphasizing religion, and becomes involved in student demonstrations over the question of ROTC.
From "The Killer Angels: The Classic Novel of the Civil War" by Michael Shaara
Lloyd modernizes the stagecraft, injecting avant-garde intrigue into what is ultimately a commercial enterprise.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 12, 2024
The bank has taken on different roles in recent years, advising Treasury as it digitizes its payment systems and modernizes operations to pay and receive money from citizens and businesses more efficiently.
From Reuters ● Sep. 27, 2023
Two weeks before the crash, European officials took Greece to court over its refusal to make public the key contract spelling out how the railway will be managed as it modernizes.
From New York Times ● Mar. 2, 2023
But one particularly interesting item on the menu is the charcuterie board, which takes an uber-popular appetizer option, modernizes it and roots it in Southern comfort food traditions.
From Salon ● Feb. 6, 2023
Mr Horne modernizes it into— "His uppermost short cloak was a bare thread."
From Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Vol 58, No. 357, July 1845 by Various
“Even though we’re definitely encouraged by the way California has modernized the tax incentive recently,” Bajaria said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
The first DHC-515 -- the modernized version of the water bomber -- will go to Greece, Cote said, "in early 2028."
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
Rival toy company Spin Master, meanwhile, credits advances in automation for helping it streamline its manufacturing process for a modernized version of its Rubik’s Cube it is introducing later this year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
“Lovingly stewarded by the same family for nearly 70 years, this grand residence has been thoughtfully updated and modernized in preparation for the next chapter in its illustrious history.”
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 14, 2026
After the welcoming ceremony and a tour of the city’s recently modernized ports and boulevards, the chauffeured car turned on to Paissandu Street, famous for the lanky royal palm trees that lined each side.
From "Death on the River of Doubt" by Samantha Seiple
“Tragic. I understand modernizing Dana Point Harbor, but I don’t support losing the businesses that made it worth visiting in the first place,” one commenter wrote.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026
Some Catholic families turned to homeschooling after Vatican II, the 1960s council responsible for modernizing the Catholic Church, led to concerns that even local parochial schools were losing their conservative moral values.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
“No, it’s going to impact folks of every age in all sorts of places, and we shouldn’t be willing to sacrifice those folks just to say that we are making progress for modernizing networks.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
The group, known as SSPX, claims hundreds of thousands of followers and opposes many of the modernizing changes the Catholic Church adopted in the 1960s, including the end of the Latin Mass.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026
He was in his forties and had talked about modernizing law enforcement in the region.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
