English

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Etymology

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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.

Pronunciation

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Verb

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modify (third-person singular simple present modifies, present participle modifying, simple past and past participle modified)

  1. (transitive) To change part of.
    Her publisher advised her to modify a few parts of the book to make it easier to read.
  2. (intransitive) To be or become modified.
  3. (transitive) To set bounds to; to moderate.
  4. (grammar, transitive) To qualify the meaning of.
    • 1977, Linda R. Waugh, A Semantic Analysis of Word Order: Position of the Adjective in French[1]:
      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[2]:
      Adjectives modify nouns.

Conjugation

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Synonyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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References

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Anagrams

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