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Modify

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modify¹

  • /ˈmɒd.ɪ.faɪ/ UK
  • /ˈmɑ.dɪˌfaɪ/ US

Where it comes from

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.

verb modifies · modifying · modified · modify

  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. transitive 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[…]

Similar: adapt, alter, amend, revamp, rework

Modify²

  • /ˈməʊd.ɪ.faɪ/ UK
  • /ˈmoʊ.dɪˌfaɪ/ US

Where it comes from

Blend of Modi + modify, after Narendra Modi, from Gujarati મોદી (modī).

verb Modifies · Modifying · Modified

  1. India, informal To align with the ideology of Narendra Modi or Bharatiya Janata Party.

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