modify
Americanverb (used with object)
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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)
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:
The analysis showed that several human proteins helped fold and modify hemagglutinin correctly during infection.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 21, 2026
In theory you should only see later times when you modify a reservation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
Unlike closed, proprietary American systems from OpenAI or Anthropic, Kimi K3's open nature allows global users to modify the system for advanced reasoning and complex software development.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
The French company develops so-called open models, which allow users to download and modify them.
From Barron's ● Jul. 7, 2026
It’s simpler to say that sometimes a noun can modify another noun.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
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
It modifies a law dating to 2006 that forced foreign investors to form joint ventures with state oil company PDVSA, which insisted on a majority stake.
From Barron's ● Jan. 29, 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
"The key advantage of the modified AlphaFold approach is that it allowed us to feed our experimental cross-linking data directly into the structural modeling," explained Kosinski.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 21, 2026
Other top AI executives have warned that open models present huge risks, since developers and policymakers lack control over how they are used or modified.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
Because her modified adjusted gross income also increased, she ended up paying higher Medicare Part B and Part D premiums, and a larger share of her Social Security benefits became taxable.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 18, 2026
He settled on a kid’s denim jacket he modified for a cat with a patch for the Cure on the back but, regrettably, it was a “little too big.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
So just a few of the NS-2 model, the Nestors, that is, were prepared with a modified First Law.
From "I, Robot" by Isaac Asimov
"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
Saronic built its first prototype in under six months by modifying an $800 Amazon raft with $30,000 worth of cameras, sensors and batteries, Mavrookas said in the podcast interview.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026
Vitamin D3 has a modifying effect on the immune system that could fortify the body against viral and bacterial diseases.
From Science Daily ● May 23, 2026
They seemed to be modifying their usual attitude of floating, chronic disapproval.
From "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles
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.