modify
Americanverb (used with object)
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modifies,
present (3rd person singular)
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modified,
past participle, past
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modifying
present participle
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to change somewhat the form or qualities of; alter partially; amend.
to modify a contract.
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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.
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to be the modifier or attribute of.
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to change (a vowel) by umlaut.
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to reduce or lessen in degree or extent; moderate; soften.
to modify one's demands.
verb (used without object)
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modifies,
present (3rd person singular)
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modified,
past participle, past
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modifying
present participle
verb
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to change the structure, character, intent, etc, of
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to make less extreme or uncompromising
to modify a demand
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grammar (of a word or group of words) to bear the relation of modifier to (another word or group of words)
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linguistics to change (a vowel) by umlaut
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(intr) to be or become modified
Synonym Usage
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 Word Forms
Derived Forms
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modifiabilitynoun
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modifiablenessnoun
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overmodifyverb
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remodifyverb
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premodifyverb (used with object)
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modifiableadjective
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nonmodifyingadjective
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unmodifiableadjective
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unmodifiedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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modifysimple
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modifiessimple
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have modifiedperfect
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has modifiedperfect
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am modifyingprogressive
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are modifyingprogressive
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is modifyingprogressive
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have been modifyingperfect progressive
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has been modifyingperfect progressive
Past
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modifiedsimple
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had modifiedperfect
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was modifyingprogressive
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were modifyingprogressive
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had been modifyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
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 mode 1 + -ify
Explanation
To modify is to change or transform, but only slightly. If you miss your free-throws half the time, your coach will probably try to improve your shooting average by modifying your technique. Modify may mean to alter something, but it's not a total makeover. When you modify or make modifications, you're making subtle changes. These tweaks are usually needed to make improvements or make the thing being modified less extreme. So you can modify your voice if your tone is too harsh, or modify your wardrobe with a few new pairs of cool shoes.
Vocabulary lists containing modify
Tier 2 Words for the SBAC ELA Items
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Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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Language and Grammar - Introductory
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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.
See Examples For:
Glimmer is an open weight model, meaning users can download and modify the underlying rules that govern the AI system.
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026
Circuit Court of Appeals ruling, which held the FCC is required by federal law to repeal or modify regulations that are no longer in the public interest.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
Investigators also seized about 20,000 rounds of ammunition, including armor-piercing rounds, multiple firearm suppressors and about 15 firearm milling fixtures used to illegally manufacture and modify AR-15-style lower receivers, according to the statement.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
He suggests of loudcasting that "in two years' time we're not going to worry about it", and that those ruffled by it will be more tolerant while offenders modify their behaviour somewhat.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
As a child I was taught, for example, that the words soap in soap flakes and that in that boy were adjectives, because they modify nouns.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
The system even allows a rider to transmit their real-time heart rate so that the e-bike motor modifies the level of assistance as needed.
From Barron's ● Jun. 28, 2026
On Kalshi, Boss places 60 trades a minute and modifies his bids and asks 30 times a second.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 4, 2026
CAR T-cell therapy takes the patient's own T-cells, modifies them and then reintroduces them back into the blood stream to help fight the cancer.
From BBC ● Jun. 16, 2025
NIH funding supported, among others, the development of CAR T cell therapy, which genetically modifies a patients’ own T-cells to fight cancer.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2025
Many of our “symptoms” of disease actually represent ways in which some damned clever microbe modifies our bodies or our behavior such that we become enlisted to spread microbes.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
At the same time, research increasingly suggests that many risk factors for cognitive decline and dementia can be modified.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026
Their planned changes would save £22bn in reforms to the disability programme alone, he added, seeing nearly three million claimants have their payments withdrawn or modified.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
While the business of cosmetically modified, futuristic-looking pets remains in its infancy, animal rights groups worry that eventually the creatures will be created, sold and later discarded in crowded municipal shelters.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
Your eligibility is based on your household modified adjusted gross income, not just your gross income or the amount of money you have in the bank.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026
When an item is modified by a relative clause, and its role inside the clause is the object of the verb, the reader is faced with a long span between the filler and the gap.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
A few times lately, I’ve caught myself modifying my own work to sound “less like A.I.”
From Slate ● Aug. 18, 2026
Evolution does not aim for perfection; it works with what is available, modifying structures step by step.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 11, 2026
"I don't fully know what the gun was, because it was old... and Gramps did some modifying," he wrote.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
The U.S. has been constantly modifying the B-52 to extend its life.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2026
Roses were not roses but “flecks of white or red modifying masses of green.”
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
