modify

[mod-uh-fahy]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR modify 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

1350–1400; Middle English modifien < Middle French modifier < Latin modificāre to impose a rule or pattern, regulate, restrain. See mode¹, -ify

Related formsmod·i·fi·a·ble, adjectivemod·i·fi·a·bil·i·ty, mod·i·fi·a·ble·ness, nounnon·mod·i·fy·ing, adjectiveo·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, adjectiveun·mod·i·fied, adjective

Synonyms for modify

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR modify ON THESAURUS.COM

1. vary, adjust, shape, reform.

Synonym study

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.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for modify

repair, tweak, vary, adjust, adapt, rework, correct, revise, customize, reshape, lower, relax, soften, restrict, curb, transmute, mutate, convert, doctor, reorganize

Examples from the Web for modify

Contemporary Examples of modify

Like Berners-Lee, Cunningham made his basic software available for anyone to modify and use.
You Can Look It Up: The Wikipedia Story
Walter Isaacson
October 19, 2014
McNaughton says Pennsylvania has no plans to modify its existing cocktail.
Pennsylvania’s Lethal Injection Fiasco
Christopher Moraff
September 18, 2014
Or, you can modify that rule by observing that each work of art generates its own unique rules….
Liberate Poetry! Robert Pinsky’s Manifesto for Readers
Daniel Bosch
August 26, 2013
If Truffaut had lived to see Platoon, the best film of 1986, he might have wanted to modify his opinion.
Roger Ebert’s 10 Best Reviews and 10 Best Zingers
Kevin Fallon
April 4, 2013
If the senior rabbis had the will, Michaelson said, they could reinterpret the Torah and modify Halakhic, or religious, law.
Gay Orthodox Jews Sue Over Therapy That Claims to ‘Cure’ Them
Zoë Blackler
November 27, 2012

Historical Examples of modify

As respects this allocation, how would I modify that instrument?
'Tis Sixty Years Since
Charles Francis Adams
We modify it in these degenerate days to "blood will have money:"
Punchinello, Vol. 1, No. 2, April 9, 1870
Various
The result of this attempt to modify the scheme was the Indian mutiny.
The History of the First West India Regiment
A. B. Ellis
It is his to choose his environment; it is his to modify his environment when he cannot leave it.
The Meaning of Evolution
Samuel Christian Schmucker
He found cause to modify the excellent impression he had received at first.
St. Martin's Summer
Rafael Sabatini

British Dictionary definitions for modify

modify

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

to change the structure, character, intent, etc, of

to make less extreme or uncompromisingto 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

Derived Formsmodifiable, adjectivemodifiability or modifiableness, noun

Word Origin for modify

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

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

Word Origin and History for modify

late 14c., from Old French modifier (14c.), from Latin modificare "to limit, measure off, restrain," from modus "measure, manner" (see mode (n.1)) + root of facere "to make" (see factitious). Related: Modified; modifying.