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Definition of modify verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

modify

verb
 
/ˈmɒdɪfaɪ/
 
/ˈmɑːdɪfaɪ/
Verb Forms
present simple I / you / we / they modify
 
/ˈmɒdɪfaɪ/
 
/ˈmɑːdɪfaɪ/
he / she / it modifies
 
/ˈmɒdɪfaɪz/
 
/ˈmɑːdɪfaɪz/
past simple modified
 
/ˈmɒdɪfaɪd/
 
/ˈmɑːdɪfaɪd/
past participle modified
 
/ˈmɒdɪfaɪd/
 
/ˈmɑːdɪfaɪd/
-ing form modifying
 
/ˈmɒdɪfaɪɪŋ/
 
/ˈmɑːdɪfaɪɪŋ/
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  1. modify something to change something slightly, especially in order to make it more suitable for a particular purpose synonym adapt
    • Patients are taught how to modify their diet.
    • We found it cheaper to modify existing equipment rather than buy new.
    • The software we use has been modified for us.
    • The law has been significantly modified since that ruling.
    • heavily/highly modified
    • A modified version of my article was published in the newspaper.
    • Permissions are arranged so that you can't delete or modify files.
    see also genetically modified
    Extra Examples
    • Check for the most recently modified version of a file.
    • Stories and characters had to be modified to fit a 21st-century audience.
    • The original text has been modified so radically that it is barely recognizable.
    • These ideas are still used today, though in a slightly modified form.
    • We can modify the service for local conditions.
    • You may need to modify your plans a little.
    • using a highly modified version of the program
    • The office software has been modified over the years.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • considerably
    • drastically
    • extensively
    verb + modify
    • have to
    • need to
    preposition
    • for
    phrases
    • highly modified
    • in a modified form
    • modified to fit something
    See full entry
  2. modify something to make something less extreme synonym adjust
    • She refused to modify her behaviour.
    • He listened to the arguments and modified his view of the party.
    • The social worker at first aimed to get Mrs R to modify her behaviour, without success.
  3. modify something (grammar) a word, such as an adjective or adverb, that modifies another word or group of words describes it or limits its meaning in some way
    • In ‘walk slowly’, the adverb ‘slowly’ modifies the verb ‘walk’.
  4. Word Originlate Middle English: from Old French modifier, from Latin modificare, from modus ‘measure’, from an Indo-European root shared by mete.
See modify in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee modify in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
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