qualify

[ kwol-uh-fahy ]

/ ˈkwɒl əˌfaɪ /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR qualify ON THESAURUS.COM

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

to provide with proper or necessary skills, knowledge, credentials, etc.; make competent: to qualify oneself for a job.

to modify or limit in some way; make less strong or positive: to qualify an endorsement.

Grammar. to modify.

to make less violent, severe, or unpleasant; moderate; mitigate.

to attribute some quality or qualities to; characterize, call, or name: She cannot qualify his attitude as either rational or irrational.

to modify or alter the flavor or strength of: He qualified his coffee with a few drops of brandy.

Law. to certify as legally competent.

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

to be fitted or competent for something.

to get authority, license, power, etc., as by fulfilling required conditions, taking an oath, etc.

Sports. to demonstrate the required ability in an initial or preliminary contest: He qualified in the trials.

to fire a rifle or pistol on a target range for a score high enough to achieve a rating of marksman, sharpshooter, or expert.

Military. to pass a practical test in gunnery.

Law. to perform the actions necessary to acquire legal power or capacity: By filing a bond and taking an oath he qualified as executor.

Nearby words

Origin of qualify

1525–35; < Medieval Latin quālificāre, equivalent to Latin quāl(is) of what sort + -ificāre -ify

SYNONYMS FOR qualify

1. fit, suit, adapt, prepare, equip. 2. narrow, restrict. 4. meliorate, soften, temper, reduce, diminish. 5. designate, label.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR qualify ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

qual·i·fi·ca·to·ry

[kwol-uh-fi-kuh-tawr-ree, -tohr-ee] /ˈkwɒl ə fɪ kəˌtɔr ri, -ˌtoʊr i/, adjectivequal·i·fy·ing·ly, adverbmis·qual·i·fy, verb, mis·qual·i·fied, mis·qual·i·fy·ing.non·qual·i·fy·ing, adjective

o·ver·qual·i·fy, verb, o·ver·qual·i·fied, o·ver·qual·i·fy·ing.pre·qual·i·fy, verb, pre·qual·i·fied, pre·qual·i·fy·ing.re·qual·i·fy, verb, re·qual·i·fied, re·qual·i·fy·ing.su·per·qual·i·fy, verb, su·per·qual·i·fied, su·per·qual·i·fy·ing.un·qual·i·fy·ing, adjectiveun·qual·i·fy·ing·ly, adverbun·re·qual·i·fied, adjective

Synonym study

2. See modify.

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

Examples from the Web for qualify

Magazines are the only thing in my apartment that qualify as clutter.
I’m a Digital Hoarder|Lizzie Crocker|December 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
We cannot qualify it based on ideological notions or concepts important only at one time in history.
Is Pope Francis Backpedaling on Gays?|Jay Michaelson|November 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
To qualify for special protection, Marmolejos wrote, Doyle would have to have disclosed “substantial” law-breaking by the lab.
Fired From Los Alamos for Pushing Obama's Nuclear Agenda|Center for Public Integrity|July 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Qualification is exacting, and a majority of the teams that do qualify are from the West.
Best Way to Punish Putin? No World Cup|Tunku Varadarajan|July 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST

True, it took America until 1990 to qualify for another World Cup, and it was 64 years before we made it past the first round.
Up To a Point: Oops, I Enjoyed Soccer|P. J. O’Rourke|July 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
There remained the Bar; and to that he turned his attention, and resolved to qualify himself for it.
Verner's Pride|Mrs. Henry Wood
The officers shall serve for one year, or until their successors are elected and qualify.
Proceedings of the Second National Conservation Congress|Various
Did your husband raise with him any necessity on his part to qualify himself for those positions and that high pay?
Warren Commission (11 of 26): Hearings Vol. XI (of 15)|The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy
Still he forbore to qualify his manner, save with a latent smile that further exasperated the girl.
Under the Rose|Frederic Stewart Isham
He is also studying law, in order to qualify himself for some office in the State.
Chronicles of the Schonberg-Cotta Family|Elizabeth Rundle Charles

British Dictionary definitions for qualify

qualify

/ (ˈkwɒlɪˌfaɪ) /

verb -fies, -fying or -fied

to provide or be provided with the abilities or attributes necessary for a task, office, duty, etchis degree qualifies him for the job; he qualifies for the job, but would he do it well?

(tr) to make less strong, harsh, or violent; moderate or restrict

(tr) to modify or change the strength or flavour of

(tr) grammar another word for modify (def. 3)

(tr) to attribute a quality to; characterize

(intr) to progress to the final stages of a competition, as by winning preliminary contests

Derived Formsqualifiable, adjectivequalificatory (ˈkwɒlɪfɪkətərɪ, -ˌkeɪ-), adjective

Word Origin for qualify

C16: from Old French qualifier, from Medieval Latin quālificāre to characterize, from Latin quālis of what kind + 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 qualify

qualify

mid-15c., "to invest with a quality," from Middle French qualifier (15c.) and directly from Medieval Latin qualificare "attribute a quality to; make of a certain quality," from Latin qualis "of what sort?," correlative pronomial adjective (see quality) + facere "to make" (see factitious). Meaning "to limit, modify" is from 1530s. Sense of "be fit for a job" first appeared 1580s. Related: Qualified; qualifying.