diversify
Americanverb (used with object)
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diversifies,
present (3rd person singular)
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diversified,
past participle, past
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diversifying
present participle
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to make diverse, as in form or character; give variety or diversity to; variegate.
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to invest in different types of (securities, industries, etc.).
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to produce different types of (manufactured products, crops, etc.).
verb (used without object)
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diversifies,
present (3rd person singular)
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diversified,
past participle, past
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diversifying
present participle
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to invest in different types of industries, securities, etc.
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to add different types of manufactured products, crops, etc., especially to a business.
verb
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(tr) to create different forms of; variegate; vary
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(of an enterprise) to vary (products, operations, etc) in order to spread risk, expand, etc
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to distribute (investments) among several securities in order to spread risk
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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diversifiabilitynoun
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diversifiernoun
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undiversifyingnoun
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overdiversifyverb
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diversifiableadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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diversifysimple
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diversifiessimple
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have diversifiedperfect
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has diversifiedperfect
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am diversifyingprogressive
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are diversifyingprogressive
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is diversifyingprogressive
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have been diversifyingperfect progressive
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has been diversifyingperfect progressive
Past
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diversifiedsimple
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had diversifiedperfect
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was diversifyingprogressive
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were diversifyingprogressive
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had been diversifyingperfect progressive
Future
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.
Vocabulary lists containing diversify
30 GRE Words Beginning with "D"
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This Week in Words: August 18 - 24, 2018
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Warriors Don't Cry (Abridged)
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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:
To appreciate just how risky that would have been, consider the performance of companies that tried to diversify by acquiring other firms with different business models.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 2, 2026
My last column, The Tax Strategy for People Suffering from Stock-Market Success, looked at 351 exchanges, in which investors can diversify a concentrated investment position by contributing it to a new ETF.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
Some experts believe tighter scrutiny of traditional trafficking routes from Latin America may be one factor driving cartels to diversify their operations.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
The researchers expect that additional fieldwork in North Africa and the Middle East will uncover more fossils that clarify how modern apes originated and began to diversify.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 24, 2026
“Maybe diversify is the wrong word,” she said.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
Evolutionary theory has long proposed that life diversifies through periods of fast change followed by slower phases.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 30, 2026
For Russia, the key question is whether it can maintain influence if Mali diversifies its security ties.
From BBC ● Apr. 28, 2026
As subprime once did, private credit diversifies the economy’s financing channels.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 29, 2026
“This transaction further diversifies and strengthens our position in oncology as we continue to look for opportunities to broaden our portfolio into other therapeutic areas,” said Merck CEO Robert Davis.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 25, 2026
In front the ground is open, a sort of natural lawn leading down to the lake; only here and there a tree diversifies its smooth surface.
From The Lone Ranche by Reid, Mayne
If you have a 2% car loan, keeping your $1,000 invested makes more sense on paper, because the potential long-term return from a diversified portfolio may actually outweigh the relatively low cost of the debt.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026
“This is the next big step forward in becoming a diversified platform, rapidly growing our revenue base and bringing scale to our business.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
"This is the next big step forward in becoming a diversified platform, rapidly growing our revenue base and bringing scale to our business."
From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026
Historically, diversified stock portfolios have generated average annual returns of roughly 7% to 10% over long periods.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 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
The company is diversifying beyond its crypto business into areas such as social media, though those ventures have yet to generate significant revenue, Thielen said.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
So I looked across the world, to see how far our savings would go and whether diversifying our investment portfolio by purchasing a rental property might make more financial sense.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026
Its presence suggests that apes were already diversifying in this area before land connections opened the way for them to spread into Europe and Asia.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 24, 2026
The company is also diversifying the content it offers on its platform, adding live sports games and video podcasts, in addition its large library of TV shows and movies.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 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
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.
