modify

[ mod-uh-fahy ]

See synonyms for: modify modified modifying modifiable on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object),mod·i·fied, mod·i·fy·ing.

to change somewhat the form or qualities of; alter partially; amend: to modify a contract.
Grammar. (of a word, phrase, or clause) to stand in a syntactically subordinate relation to (another word, phrase, or clause), usually with descriptive, limiting, or particularizing meaning; be a modifier. In a good man, good modifies man.

to be the modifier or attribute of.
to change (a vowel) by umlaut.
to reduce or lessen in degree or extent; moderate; soften: to modify one's demands.

verb (used without object),mod·i·fied, mod·i·fy·ing.

to be or become modified.

Origin of modify

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English modifien, from Middle French modifier, from Latin modificāre “to impose a rule or pattern, regulate, restrain”; equivalent to mode¹ + -ify

synonym study For modify

5. Modify, qualify, temper suggest altering an original statement, condition, or the like, so as to avoid anything excessive or extreme. To modify is to alter in one or more particulars, generally in the direction of leniency or moderation: to modify demands, rates. To qualify is to restrict or limit by exceptions or conditions: to qualify one's praise, hopes. To temper is to alter the quality of something, generally so as to diminish its force or harshness: to temper one's criticism with humor.

Other words for modify

1	vary, adjust, shape, reform

See synonyms for modify on Thesaurus.com

Other words from modify

mod·i·fi·a·ble, adjective
mod·i·fi·a·bil·i·ty, mod·i·fi·a·ble·ness, noun
non·mod·i·fy·ing, adjective
o·ver·mod·i·fy, verb, o·ver·mod·i·fied, o·ver·mod·i·fy·ing.
pre·mod·i·fy, verb (used with object), pre·mod·i·fied, pre·mod·i·fy·ing.
re·mod·i·fy, verb, re·mod·i·fied, re·mod·i·fy·ing.
un·mod·i·fi·a·ble, adjective
un·mod·i·fied, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use modify in a sentence

Long-term cocaine use modifies neural circuits in the brain’s reward pathway, making a steady intake of the drug necessary for the circuits to operate normally.
The Epigenetic Secrets Behind Dopamine, Drug Addiction and Depression | R. Douglas Fields | October 27, 2020 | Quanta Magazine
Last week, you were playing a modified version of “The Price is Right.”
Can You Feed The Hot Hand? | Zach Wissner-Gross | October 23, 2020 | FiveThirtyEight
Though Android is “open source,” meaning it can be freely used and modified, the DOJ argues that Google nonetheless effectively forces device makers to use its own version of Android, which gives prominent placement to Google’s search services.
What could change at Google if the Department of Justice gets its way | dzanemorris | October 20, 2020 | Fortune
The California-based firm’s burgers debuted in mainland China at the International Import Expo in Shanghai last November, but the company hasn’t yet received regulatory approval to sell its products, which contain genetically modified yeast.
Impossible Foods enters grocery stores outside the U.S. for the first time | Naomi Xu Elegant | October 20, 2020 | Fortune
If you do not need the extreme capability a heavily modified SUV like ours offers, then drive something more suitable to your life.
Inside My Custom Toyota Land Cruiser Build | Wes Siler | October 15, 2020 | Outside Online

He created his own crowd-funding platform for genetically modified organisms (GMOs), which has yet to be launched.
Design Your Own Dinosaur: The Era of Custom DNA | Justin Jones | January 8, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
My birth certificate was modified, I changed my name, and when I was sixteen I emancipated from my grandparents and my father.
Exclusive: Michael Phelps’s Intersex Self-Proclaimed Girlfriend, Taylor Lianne Chandler, Tells All | Aurora Snow | November 26, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
But Obamacare can be modified to be more acceptable to Republicans.
The GOP Senate: A New Utopia Dawns | P. J. O’Rourke | November 8, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Cute labels saying products haven't been genetically modified are designed to profit off of fear, not protect you with science.
Whole Foods' Anti-GMO Swindle | Michael Schulson | September 15, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
In July, Boeing announced a new modified version of its bestselling 737.
Solution to Seat Rage: No More Reclining | Will Doig | September 4, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Of course the expression of this value is modified and characterized by the nature of the thing spoken of.
Expressive Voice Culture | Jessie Eldridge Southwick
The Swedish boatswain consoled him, and he modified his opinions as the voyage went on.
Kipling Stories and Poems Every Child Should Know, Book II | Rudyard Kipling
Modified and amended as their system is in its practical application, it still largely conditions our outlook to-day.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice | Stephen Leacock
The characteristics of the different forms are well shown in the table on opposite page, modified from Hill.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis | James Campbell Todd
A decision may be modified or set aside when it is regarded as no longer applicable to the present condition of things.
Putnam's Handy Law Book for the Layman | Albert Sidney Bolles

British Dictionary definitions for modify

modify

/ (ˈmɒdɪˌfaɪ) /

verb-fies, -fying or -fied (mainly tr)

to change the structure, character, intent, etc, of
to make less extreme or uncompromising: to modify a demand

grammar (of a word or group of words) to bear the relation of modifier to (another word or group of words)
linguistics to change (a vowel) by umlaut
(intr) to be or become modified

Origin of modify

C14: from Old French modifier, from Latin modificāre to limit, control, from modus measure + facere to make

Derived forms of modify

modifiable, adjective
modifiability or modifiableness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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