diversify

American  

[dih-vur-suh-fahy, dahy-] / dɪˈvɜr səˌfaɪ, daɪ- /

verb (used with object)

• diversifies,
  present (3rd person singular)
• diversified,
  past participle,  past
• diversifying
  present participle

1. to make diverse, as in form or character; give variety or diversity to; variegate.

2. to invest in different types of (securities, industries, etc.).

3. to produce different types of (manufactured products, crops, etc.).

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verb (used without object)

• diversifies,
  present (3rd person singular)
• diversified,
  past participle,  past
• diversifying
  present participle

1. to invest in different types of industries, securities, etc.

2. to add different types of manufactured products, crops, etc., especially to a business.

diversify British  

/ daɪˈvɜːsɪˌfaɪ /

verb

1. (tr) to create different forms of; variegate; vary

2. (of an enterprise) to vary (products, operations, etc) in order to spread risk, expand, etc

3. to distribute (investments) among several securities in order to spread risk

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• diversifiability
  noun
• diversifier
  noun
• undiversifying
  noun
• overdiversify
  verb
• diversifiable
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• diversifying
  present
• diversified
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• diversify
  simple
• diversifies
  simple
• have diversified
  perfect
• has diversified
  perfect
• am diversifying
  progressive
• are diversifying
  progressive
• is diversifying
  progressive
• have been diversifying
  perfect progressive
• has been diversifying
  perfect progressive

Past

• diversified
  simple
• had diversified
  perfect
• was diversifying
  progressive
• were diversifying
  progressive
• had been diversifying
  perfect progressive

Future

• will diversify
  simple
• will have diversified
  perfect
• will be diversifying
  progressive
• will have been diversifying
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of diversify

1400–50; late Middle English < Anglo-French diversifier < Medieval Latin dīversificāre, equivalent to Latin dīvers ( us ) diverse + -ificāre -ify

Explanation

Diversify means to vary in type. It's often used to discuss risk in financial activities. You might diversify your investments by spreading your wealth among different types of stocks. You may have noticed that diversify looks like the word diverse, an adjective that describes showing variety and difference. If you want to diversify your interests, that means you want to mix it up and do more than just play Dungeons and Dragons all the time — you might become active in sports, theater, and the math club. Diversify can also describe expanding into new areas. A company might diversify by sending its sales force into Asia and Latin America.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

diversify diversifies diversified diversifying

Brussels is also developing a tool that would support businesses, through funding, to diversify their suppliers in critical sectors.

From Barron's ● Oct. 5, 2026

In fact, he says, now that Europe can no longer rely fully on the US, Spain's priority is to diversify.

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

As bats continued to diversify, separate groups expanded into the Americas, Asia, and Australia.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 30, 2026

In those moves, taxpayers with appreciated gains engage in a series of transactions with newly launched exchange-traded funds that are designed to diversify their holdings without generating capital-gains taxes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026

“Maybe diversify is the wrong word,” she said.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin

"For JioStar, tennis broadens the engagement calendar, attracts affluent urban audiences and diversifies advertiser categories beyond cricket," says Bhalla.

From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026

The acquisition diversifies the company’s business base, giving it a foothold in leading-edge physical AI, the analysts say.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026

"For China, the pipeline is about energy security and leverage, and less about dependence. It diversifies supply away from maritime chokepoints," he said.

From Barron's ● May 19, 2026

Researchers believe these findings could help answer a long-standing question about how life diversifies so rapidly under the right conditions.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 1, 2026

It increases more and more in volume and in intricacy of structure, it expands the cranial cavity and diversifies its convolutions.

From Naturalism And Religion by Rudolf Otto

These stocks provide an inherent buffer for a diversified portfolio.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026

While inflation remains elevated in many parts of the world and geopolitical risks continue to warrant caution, the overall investment backdrop remains constructive for investors willing to remain selective and diversified, the asset manager says.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

Ultimately, narrow breadth may not matter all that much to investors in diversified index funds.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 27, 2026

Under Simon, Funko has diversified its supply chain, shifting production out of China to Vietnam and other countries.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 26, 2026

In the large and pleasant salon which extended across the width of the house, the Ratignolles entertained their friends once a fortnight with a soirée musicale, sometimes diversified by card-playing.

From "The Awakening" by Kate Chopin

“We expect the portfolio diversifying properties of negative beta stocks to remain meaningful into 2027.”

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026

Taken together, the evidence indicates that both powered flight and echolocation emerged before modern bat groups began diversifying.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 30, 2026

“Housing is pretty cheap. It’s been pretty fast-growing, and in that cheap housing and fast-growing, it’s a place that’s diversifying, and a lot of immigrants have made a life there.”

From Salon ● Sep. 22, 2026

The company is also diversifying its earnings base to reduce reliance on the airline business, while maintaining a sustainable cash-flow position, he says.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

They knew how significant it was that another one of us had made it; it was like one more step toward diversifying fencing.

From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad

Related Words

• expand
• transform