amend

[ uh-mend ]

/ əˈmɛnd /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR amend ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to alter, modify, rephrase, or add to or subtract from (a motion, bill, constitution, etc.) by formal procedure: Congress may amend the proposed tax bill.

to change for the better; improve: to amend one's ways.

to remove or correct faults in; rectify.

verb (used without object)

to grow or become better by reforming oneself: He amends day by day.

Nearby words

amen, amen corner, amen glass, amen-ra, amenable, amend, amendatory, amende honorable, amending formula, amendment, amends

Origin of amend

1175–1225; Middle English amenden < Old French amender < Latin ēmendāre “to correct,” equivalent to ē- e-¹ + mend(a) “blemish” + -āre infinitive suffix

Related forms

a·mend·a·ble, adjectivea·mend·er, nounnon·a·mend·a·ble, adjectivere·a·mend, verb

un·a·mend·a·ble, adjectiveun·a·mend·ed, adjectiveun·a·mend·ing, adjectivewell-a·mend·ed, adjective

Synonym study

3. Amend, emend both mean to improve by correcting or by freeing from error. Amend is the general term, used of any such correction in detail: to amend spelling, punctuation, grammar. Emend usually applies to the correction of a text in the process of editing or preparing for publication; it implies improvement in the sense of greater accuracy: He emended the text of the play by restoring the original reading.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for amended

Editor's Note: This story had been amended to clarify Jeffrey Wright's Naval service.
The Navy ‘Hero’ Who Pimped an HIV-Positive Teen|M.L. Nestel|December 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Perhaps this year, the old saying should be amended to: to share is better than to receive.
One of a Kind Gifts Are Only a Neighbor Away|Lawrence Ferber|December 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Cook posted, amended, then deleted a sort-of apology over the controversy and refused all interviews.
The Secret World of Pickup Artist Julien Blanc|Brandy Zadrozny|December 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
An amended bill eventually passed that created a new board without all the power Mitchell and the Alliance had sought.
At This Creepy Libertarian Charter School, Kids Must Swear ‘to Be Obedient to Those in Authority’|ProPublica|October 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The contract has been amended 22 times in the past 14 years.
Megabanks Have The Federal Prison System Locked Up|Center for Public Integrity|October 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I thought the draught I gave you last night would have amended you.
Auriol|W. Harrison Ainsworth
The Clerk—If a translation were made that might be amended in any point, some men it would blame.
Fifteenth Century Prose and Verse|Various
I wish the game-laws could be amended to cover every wild animal left to us.
Wild Life Near Home|Dallas Lore Sharp
Page 173, “Estrads” amended to “Estrades” (transaction Estrades alludes).
The True History of The State Prisoner, commonly called The Iron Mask|George Agar Ellis
"I'm afraid she's a bad—not a good girl," amended Mr. Hearty.
Mrs. Bindle|Hebert Jenkins

British Dictionary definitions for amended

amend

/ (əˈmɛnd) /

verb (tr)

to improve; change for the better

to remove faults from; correct

to alter or revise (legislation, a constitution, etc) by formal procedure

Derived Forms

amendable, adjectiveamender, noun

Word Origin for amend

C13: from Old French amender, from Latin ēmendāre to emend

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012