modification
[ mod-uh-fi-key-shuhn ]
/ ˌmɒd ə fɪˈkeɪ ʃən /
Save This Word!
noun
an act or instance of modifying.
the state of being modified; partial alteration.
a modified form; variety.
Biology. a change in a living organism acquired from its own activity or environment and not transmitted to its descendants.
limitation or qualification.
Grammar.
- the use of a modifier in a construction, or of modifiers in a class of constructions or in a language.
- the meaning of a modifier, especially as it affects the meaning of the word or other form modified: Limitation is one kind of modification.
- a change in the phonological shape of a morpheme, word, or other form when it functions as an element in a construction, as the change of not to -n't in doesn't.
- an adjustment in the form of a word as it passes from one language to another.
QUIZZES
QUIZ YOURSELF ON THE MANY TYPES OF NOUNS
They're everywhere you turn, but can you identify the 10 types of nouns easily? This quiz will test your mettle against singular, plural, concrete, abstract, common, proper, collective, compound, countable, and uncountable nouns!
Question 1 of 7
Shoelaces, rainbow, toothpaste, and haircuts are all what type of noun?
Meet Grammar Coach
Improve Your Writing
Origin of modification
OTHER WORDS FROM modification
in·ter·mod·i·fi·ca·tion, nouno·ver·mod·i·fi·ca·tion, nounpre·mod·i·fi·ca·tion, nounre·mod·i·fi·ca·tion, nounWords nearby modification
MODFET, modge, modicum, modif., modificand, modification, modificatory, modified American plan, modified radical mastectomy, modified-release, modifier
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for modification
British Dictionary definitions for modification
modification
/ (ˌmɒdɪfɪˈkeɪʃən) /
noun
the act of modifying or the condition of being modified
something modified; the result of a modification
a small change or adjustment
grammar the relation between a modifier and the word or phrase that it modifies
Derived forms of modification
modificatory or modificative, adjectiveCollins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Medical definitions for modification
modification
[ mŏd′ə-fĭ-kā′shən ]
n.
Any of the changes in an organism that are caused by environment or activity and are not genetically transmissable to offspring.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Scientific definitions for modification
modification
[ mŏd′ə-fĭ-kā′shən ]
A change in an organism that results from external influences and cannot be inherited.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.