amend

[uh-mend]

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.

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 formsa·mend·a·ble, adjectivea·mend·er, nounnon·a·mend·a·ble, adjectivere·a·mend, verbun·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. 2018

Related Words for amending

rectify, modify, lift, enhance, alter, revise, repair, right, help, reform, fix, better, elevate, remedy, square, mend, ameliorate, change, raise

Examples from the Web for amending

Contemporary Examples of amending

So what the anti-Citizens United movement really needs to do is something even harder than amending the Constitution.
Undo Citizens United? We’d Only Scratch the Surface
Jedediah Purdy
November 12, 2014
Here's one amending a surprising quote from the editor of The New Yorker.
Best New York Times Corrections Ever: 'The Shining,' Twilight Sparkle & More
Josh Dzieza
February 3, 2012
Hatch is found guilty of violating his probation by not amending his tax returns or paying his taxes.
Richard Hatch Can't Win
Andy Dehnart
May 19, 2011
“Any talk of amending the Constitution is just wrong,” she said in a White House press briefing.
A GOP Blunder on Immigration
Mark McKinnon
August 12, 2010
The problem with both these solutions is that they depend on amending the Constitution.
Justice Stevens Should Quit Now
Adam Winkler
April 5, 2010

Historical Examples of amending

Amending his phrase, he said: "But for him, things would have been very different!"
Casanova's Homecoming
Arthur Schnitzler
"I mean, to see a visitor," said Mrs. Latouche, amending her phrase.
Four Meetings
Henry James
They also had power to call a convention for amending the constitution.
The Spirit of American Government
J. Allen Smith
It was an indoor job, they declared, amending their first opinion.
Anthony Trent, Master Criminal
Wyndham Martyn
Yes; I would do it by amending this section in three places, very simply, if the stenographer will take this down.
Arguments before the Committee on Patents of the House of Representatives, conjointly with the Senate Committee on Patents, on H.R. 19853, to amend and consolidate the acts respecting copyright
United States Committee on Patents

British Dictionary definitions for amending

amend

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 Formsamendable, 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

Word Origin and History for amending

amend

early 13c., "to free from faults, rectify," from Old French amender (12c.), from Latin emendare "to correct, free from fault," from ex- "out" (see ex-) + menda "fault, blemish," from PIE *mend- "physical defect, fault" (cf. Sanskrit minda "physical blemish," Old Irish mennar "stain, blemish," Welsh mann "sign, mark").

Supplanted in senses of "repair, cure" by its shortened offspring mend (v.). Meaning "to add to legislation" (ostensibly to correct or improve it) is recorded from 1777. Related: Amended; amending.