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modify

verb

Simple meaning

Cause to change.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

mahduhfy

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈmɑdəfaɪ

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

  1. Cause to change; make different; cause a transformation

  2. transitivegrammar

    To qualify the meaning of.

  3. transitive

    To change part of.

  4. transitive

    To set bounds to; to moderate.

  5. intransitive

    To be or become modified.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B1 · Intermediate
Frequency
Common
Typical Use
Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Cause to change; make different; cause a transformation

Used this way, modify is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use modify

  • “Please modify this letter to make it more polite.”verb

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

  • modifiedadjectiveInflected form

    Changed in form or character.

  • modifiernounInflected form

    A content word that qualifies the meaning of a noun or verb.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • modified radical mastectomynounCompound term

    Removal of a breast and the pectoralis minor and some lymph nodes in the adjacent armpit.

  • modifier genenounCompound term

    A gene that modifies the effect produced by another gene.

  • modified american plannounCompound term

    A hotel plan that includes breakfast and dinner (but not lunch).

Related Words

Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.