From Middle English modifien, from Middle French modifier, from Latin modificare (“to limit, control, regulate, deponent”), from modificari (“to measure off, set bound to, moderate”), from modus (“measure”) + facere (“to make”); see mode.
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈmɒdɪfaɪ/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈmɑdɪfaɪ/
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- Hyphenation: mod‧i‧fy
- (transitive) To change part of.
- Her publisher advised her to modify a few parts of the book to make it easier to read.
- (intransitive) To be or become modified.
- (transitive) To set bounds to; to moderate.
- (grammar, transitive) To qualify the meaning of.
- 1977, Linda R. Waugh, A Semantic Analysis of Word Order: Position of the Adjective in French:
- There is inherently no ordering to the modification and no hierarchy of modification: that is, both adjectives modify the substantive and both apply equally to the substantive […]
- 2016, Allen Ascher, The New Harbrace Guide: Genres for Composing:
- Adjectives modify nouns.
Conjugation of modify
to change part of
to be or become modified
in grammar, to qualify another word or phrase
- modify in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
- modify in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.