modify

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   make less severe or harsh or extreme

   please modify this letter to make it more polite

2. 2
   verb

   To change part of.

   Her publisher advised her to modify a few parts of the book to make it easier to read.

3. 3
   verb

   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[…]

4. 4
   verb

   cause to change

5. 5
   verb

   add a modifier to a constituent

6. 6
   verb

   To be or become modified.

7. 7
   verb

   To set bounds to; to moderate.

Etymology

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.