modernize
verb (used with object)
to make modern; give a new or modern character or appearance to: to modernize a kitchen.
had modernized
-
past perfectof modernize.past perfect
Used to express a completed action that took place before another specific past action occurred.
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.
It was one of the ways that Mexico had modernized, he felt.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2025
Although she had modernized the depiction of tarot’s “archetypes” — or patterns that live in the human psyche and serve as a filter for reality — those ancient patterns remain as powerful as ever.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 2, 2024
Ms. van Ee, Miss Netherlands’s national director, said that over the last decade or so, the pageant had modernized.
From New York Times ● Jul. 11, 2023
By 1948, when Cline was 16, New Deal investment had modernized the South’s roads, bridges, and buildings, and established new public works megaprojects like the Tennessee Valley Authority.
From Slate ● Jul. 17, 2018
They had the new tactics and we didn't, they had modernized, and we had not.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
