unify

American  

[yoo-nuh-fahy] / ˈju nəˌfaɪ /

verb (used with or without object)

• unifies,
  present (3rd person singular)
• unified,
  past participle,  past
• unifying
  present participle

1. 

   to make or become a single unit; unite.

   to unify conflicting theories;

   to unify a country.

   Synonyms:

   coalesce, fuse, merge, combine

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unify British  

/ ˈjuːnɪˌfaɪ /

verb

1. to make or become one; unite

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unifier
  noun
• reunify
  verb (used with object)
• nonunified
  adjective
• quasi-unified
  adjective
• unifiable
  adjective
• ununified
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• unifying
  present
• unified
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• unify
  simple
• unifies
  simple
• have unified
  perfect
• has unified
  perfect
• am unifying
  progressive
• are unifying
  progressive
• is unifying
  progressive
• have been unifying
  perfect progressive
• has been unifying
  perfect progressive

Past

• unified
  simple
• had unified
  perfect
• was unifying
  progressive
• were unifying
  progressive
• had been unifying
  perfect progressive

Future

• will unify
  simple
• will have unified
  perfect
• will be unifying
  progressive
• will have been unifying
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of unify

First recorded in 1495–1505; from Late Latin ūnificāre, equivalent to Latin ūni- uni- + -ficāre -fy

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Explanation

When you bring together unlike elements, you unify them. Political movements can unify people by inspiring them to work towards a shared goal. Likewise, a shared love of a team or band can unify people who otherwise don't have much in common. The verb unify comes from the Latin prefix uni-, “one,” and the root facere, “to make.” When you unify things, you make them one. Often squabbling people just need someone to point out their similarities in order to unify them. If your classmates are sabotaging each other to try to win the “best-decorated locker” award, you might be able to unify their efforts suggesting a “most awesome class” award instead.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

unify unifies unified unifying

The exhibition, which opened Sunday in East Hollywood, aims to unify both halves of his work.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026

"We're hoping to really unify as many geologic dating methods as we can by using the same mathematics, the same Bayesian approach, and just bringing more data, more raw observations into that mix," he said.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 30, 2026

Sometimes the energy of all that “na-na-nah”-ing is infectious enough to unify rivals, if only for a few measures of music.

From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2026

President Harry Truman made a bid to unify the warring forces, dispatching George Marshall to China in December 1945.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

Physicists began to think that string theory would unify quantum mechanics with relativity; they believed that it would lead to the theory of quantum gravity—the Theory of Everything that explains every phenomenon in the universe.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife

They’re part of the branding that unifies every show and a reminder of how big and diverse the scene really is.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 29, 2026

The move unifies a portfolio of more than 20 brands that has expanded as part of a continuing roll-up of smaller competitors.

From Barron's ● Apr. 16, 2026

“It unifies community. It is the glue of democracy.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 20, 2026

University of California San Diego and CEA-Leti scientists have developed a ground-breaking piezoelectric-based DC-DC converter that unifies all power switches onto a single chip to increase power density.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 20, 2024

We do not yet have a complete consistent theory that unifies general relativity and quantum mechanics, but we do know a number of the features it should have.

From "A Brief History of Time: And Other Essays" by Stephen Hawking

"Once upon a time, there was a unified audience which said the Tatas are good people with good governance. Today, the opinion is divided," said Harish Bijoor, business and brand strategy consultant.

From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026

President Donald Trump's envoys will meet Ukrainian and European officials in Miami on Friday to discuss "new ideas" and seek a unified proposal to end the war with Russia, two US sources told AFP.

From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026

The observations provide the first direct evidence that quark-gluon plasma responds to fast-moving particles as a unified fluid, producing waves, splashes, and swirling motion instead of simply behaving as a collection of independently scattering particles.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 6, 2026

“This happens because the stocks fall on the initial announcement of an investigation and rise once investors realize that Congress is not unified or there is no imminent credible government action,” they said.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 3, 2026

A field that had seemed unified was split into warring camps.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

"It's a step toward unifying all of the known fundamental forces, which has been a goal of physicists for more than a century."

From Science Daily ● Sep. 23, 2026

Few would have guessed that Abraham Lincoln, or Franklin Roosevelt, or Ronald Reagan were capable of unifying Americans as they did, so it would be a mistake to say it isn’t possible.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026

Trying to rank her best songs, however, is where her unifying powers hit a wall.

From Salon ● Aug. 29, 2026

But how likely is it that a unifying challenger will emerge?

From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026

In downtown Kinshasa, where a lot of the bars have television sets, Mobutu in his leopard-skin hat blinks on every evening at seven o’clock for the purpose of unifying our nation.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver

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Related Words

• bring together
• consolidate
• merge

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