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

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Etymology

Origin of diversify

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

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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

"You need to diversify the type of value chains and crops that you are currently self-sufficient, and food security becomes now in many countries a matter of national security," he added.

From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026

Artificial intelligence no longer provides a “one-way trade” — it’s time to be more selective about picks and to diversify, Barclays said.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026

The company is pushing sandwiches, wings and tenders to diversify away from its traditional bone-in buckets of chicken.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

But others say it could be one of a numbers of options in the future, as farmers are forced to diversify and adapt to a changing climate.

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026

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

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin

"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

For Russia, the key question is whether it can maintain influence if Mali diversifies its security ties.

From BBC ● Apr. 28, 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

As subprime once did, private credit diversifies the economy’s financing channels.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 29, 2026

Protection to American labor diversifies American industry, and to have it diversified touches and developes every part of the human brain.

From Ingersollia Gems of Thought from the Lectures, Speeches, and Conversations of Col. Robert G. Ingersoll, Representative of His Opinions and Beliefs by Robert Green Ingersoll

Biopharma stocks like AbbVie and Eli Lilly are trading at or near all-time highs, in the latest signal that investors are seeking out the steady gains that come with large, diversified drugmakers.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 15, 2026

“They have developed domestic manufacturing capabilities with artificial intelligence for drone and missile softwares, diversified their supply chains, accumulated operational experience, and established relationships with regional smugglers and international procurement networks,” Basha said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026

When the S&P 500 is near a record and the median stock is down 16%, your diversified fund is less diversified than its brochure.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 14, 2026

Over its 143 years in operation, Wente Family Vineyards diversified into other businesses like growing hay and raising cattle to supplement its revenue.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

Culver, a prominent local citizen and practitioner of diversified farming, his handsome daughter, Miss Tansy Culver, two young sons, and Mr. Culver’s sister-in-law, Miss Singleterry, who was flung some distance off the tailgate.

From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck

More recently, he’s argued that you can do better than 4% by diversifying into other classes.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026

Heaton, 32, has likewise been diversifying his post- “Stranger Things” portfolio.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 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

About a decade ago, with greening pushing him toward bankruptcy, Rucks began diversifying: blueberries, bamboo, ornamental plants.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 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

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