modify
verbattested in dialogue
- United Kingdom//ˈmɒd.ɪ.faɪ//
- United States//ˈmɑ.dɪˌfaɪ//
To change part of.
verb
- 1
To change part of.
Her publisher advised her to modify a few parts of the book to make it easier to read.
- 2
To be or become modified.
- 3
To set bounds to; to moderate.
- 4
To qualify the meaning of.
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[…]
Adjectives modify nouns.
Etymology
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.
Forms
- past tense
- modified
- past participle
- modified
- present participle
- modifying
- third person singular
- modifies