modifymod‧i‧fy /ˈmɒdɪfaɪ $ ˈmɑː-/ ●●○ AWL verb (past tense and past participle modified, present participle modifying, third person singular modifies) [transitive] 
Word Origin Examples
The feedback will be used to modify the course for next year. The regulations can only be modified by a special committee.modify something to do something The seats can be modified to fit other types of vehicle.2technical if an adjective, adverb etc modifies another word, it describes something or limits the word’s meaning. In the phrase ‘walk slowly’, the adverb ‘slowly’ modifies the verb ‘walk’.
Word OriginWORD ORIGINmodify
Verb TableOrigin:
1300-1400 French modifier, from Latin modificare ‘to measure, moderate’, from modus; ➔ MODEVERB TABLE
modify
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | modify |
| he, she, it | modifies | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | modified |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have modified |
| he, she, it | has modified | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had modified |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will modify |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have modified |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am modifying |
| he, she, it | is modifying | |
| you, we, they | are modifying | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was modifying |
| you, we, they | were modifying | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been modifying |
| he, she, it | has been modifying | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been modifying |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be modifying |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been modifying |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
Thesaurus- I modified the handlebars on my bike to make it more comfortable.
- The biotech corporations argue that genetically modified crops will put an end to food shortages in the developing world.
- We all modify our speech when speaking to people in authority.
- We can modify the design to make it suitable for commercial production.
- Although research has modified this supposition, it is none the less true that males are generally seducers and females the seduced.
- Any move to modify that transgressive stance is seen by some as treason.
- The engines of the Atlas burned a modified aviation fuel, similar to kerosene, with liquid oxygen.
- The recipe is modified and simplified by succeeding generations of cooks.
- They have similar Uvalues to triple glazing and good solar control properties which can be modified to suit specific needs.
- They would, of course, be modified from normal naval requirements to suit our purposes.
Longman Language Activatorto change something for a particular use or purpose► adapt
Collocations to change something so that it can be used in a different way: · They have adapted their house so they can look after their disabled son more easily.· The movie was adapted by Forsyth from his own bestselling novel.adapt for: · The materials in the book can be adapted for use with older children.adapt something to do something: · These recipes can be easily adapted to suit vegetarians.
► modify to make small changes to something such as a piece of equipment, a set of ideas, or a way of behaving in order to improve it or to make it more suitable for a particular purpose: · We can modify the design to make it suitable for commercial production.· We all modify our speech when speaking to people in authority.genetically modify (=change the genes of plants or animals): · The biotech corporations argue that genetically modified crops will put an end to food shortages in the developing world.
► convert to change something completely so that it has a different form and can be used for a different purpose: · We've converted the basement to give the children more room to play.convert something into something: · A Swiss company has found a way to convert animal waste into fuel.· This computer system converts typed words into speech.
► customize also customise British to change something, such as a car or a piece of equipment, to suit a particular person or group of people: · General Motors will customize Cadillacs for special clients.· The computer programs can be customised for individual users.· customized software
WORD SETS► Grammarabbr., abbreviate, verbabbreviation, nounabstract noun, nounaccusative, nounactive, adjectiveadj., adjective, nounadv., adverb, nounadverbial, adjectiveaffix, nounantecedent, nounapposition, nounarticle, nounaspect, nounattributive, adjectiveaux., auxiliary, nounauxiliary verb, nouncase, nouncausal, adjectiveclause, nouncollective noun, nouncommon noun, nouncomparative, adjectivecomparison, nouncomplement, nouncomplex, adjectivecompound, nounconcord, nounconcrete noun, nounconditional, adjectiveconditional, nounconj., conjugate, verbconjugation, nounconjunction, nounconnective, nounconstruction, nouncontinuous, adjectivecontraction, nouncoordinate, adjectivecoordinating conjunction, nouncopula, nouncountable, adjectivecount noun, noundative, noundeclension, noundefinite article, noundemonstrative, adjectivedemonstrative pronoun, noundependent clause, noundeterminer, noundirect discourse, noundirect object, noundirect speech, noundisjunctive, adjectiveditransitive, adjectivedouble negative, noun-ed, suffixending, noun-est, suffix-eth, suffixfeminine, adjectivefinite, adjectiveform, nounfunction word, nounfuture, adjectivegender, noungenitive, noungerund, noungradable, adjectivegrammar, noungrammarian, noungrammatical, adjectivehistoric present, nounhomonym, nounhomophone, nounimperative, adjectiveimperative, nounimpersonal, adjectiveindefinite article, nounindependent clause, nounindicative, nounindicative, adjectiveindirect discourse, nounindirect object, nounindirect speech, nouninfinitive, nouninflect, verbinflected, adjectiveinflection, noun-ing, suffixintensifier, nouninterjection, nouninterrogative, adjectiveinterrogative, nounintransitive, adjectivelinking verb, nounmain clause, nounmasculine, adjectivemodal, nounmodal auxiliary, nounmodal verb, nounmodifier, nounmodify, verbmood, nounn., neuter, adjectivenominal, adjectivenominative, nounnon-finite, adjectivenon-restrictive, adjectivenoun, nounnumber, nounobject, nounparse, verbparticipial, adjectiveparticiple, nounparticle, nounpartitive, nounpart of speech, nounpassive, adjectivepassivize, verbpast, adjectivepast participle, nounpast perfect, nounperfect participle, nounperiphrasis, nounpersonal pronoun, nounphrasal verb, nounphrase, nounpl., plural, nounplural, adjectiveplurality, nounpossessive, adjectivepossessive, nounpredeterminer, nounpredicate, nounpredicative, adjectiveprefix, nounprefix, verbprep., preposition, nounprepositional phrase, nounpres., present participle, nounprogressive, adjectivepronominal, adjectivepronoun, nounproper noun, nounpunctuate, verbpunctuation, nounqualifier, nounquantifier, nounquestion tag, nounreflexive, adjectiveregular, adjectiverelative clause, nounrelative pronoun, nounreported speech, nounrestrictive clause, nounroot, nounrule, nounrun-on sentence, nounsecond person, nounsemicolon, nounsentence, nounsentence adverb, nounsingular, adjectivesolecism, nounsplit infinitive, nounstative, adjectivestem, nounsubject, nounsubjective, adjectivesubjunctive, nounsubordinate clause, nounsubstantive, nounsuffix, nounsuperlative, adjectivesyntactic, adjectivesyntax, nountag, nountense, nountransitive, adjectiveuncountable, adjectivev., variant, nounverb, nounverbal, adjectivevocative, noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES► genetically modified crops
Word family (also GM crops) (=ones that have had their genetic structure changed)· He argues that genetically modified crops are needed to avoid future famines.
► a modified version (=one that has some small changes)· The article is a modified version of a paper that first appeared in an academic journal.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB► genetically· The new category of genetically modified organisms has been subject to far less testing than one should reasonably expect.· Prince Charles has been loud in his condemnation of genetically modified food.· The sites for planting genetically modified maize and oilseed rape have to be announced in advance.· Smothering the world with efficient carbon sink plantings, such as eucalyptus and genetically modified poplar, is an anathema.· The proportion of soya from the genetically modified plants was initially small, but led to all soya being regarded as suspect.· They have released pollen from genetically modified plants into the environment, claiming that it will not spread.· Other genetically modified trees may help clean up contaminated land.· In 1998 it was already estimated that one-third of maize and soya products from the United States were from genetically modified crops.
► significantly· These safeguards are framed in an adjudicative fashion, albeit one which is significantly modified to take account of the circumstances.
► slightly· Bowel frequency, on the other hand, was only slightly modified.
NOUN► account· Therefore many traditional notions about rural decline have to be modified to take account of the remarkable turn-around in demographic trends.· What it will say is that the chemistry can be modified to take account of the particular mineral and its final base.· One could try to modify the orthodox account to accommodate these factual discrepancies.· Labour's Coun. Jim Skinner said a planned review of bus routes could be modified to take account of air pollution levels.· Always switch to a secure connection when modifying your account details or checking out.· These safeguards are framed in an adjudicative fashion, albeit one which is significantly modified to take account of the circumstances.
► application· We operate a full range of specialised equipment that has been modified for aircraft application.· State policies were seen as merely modifying the particular application of the law.
► behaviour· Managers have to modify or influence behaviour all the time.· So the superficially more relaxed atmosphere at home did nothing to modify my anorexic behaviour.· Conventions can be modified by changes in behaviour or by reinterpretations of the significance of certain behaviour.· Combining methods Penalties may be combined with rewards in order to modify children's behaviour.· In non-associative learning the animal also learns to modify its behaviour but not because of any association of stimuli.· Human beings turned out to be more intelligent than dandelions and modified their behaviour to match the new circumstances.· In summary, then, animals undoubtedly can modify their behaviour as a consequence of their experiences.
► design· Roy modified the original design and made every single part of the clock in his own workshop.· Members can point to, modify and discuss design changes on a multi-page document.· When Johann Heinrich Silbermann modified Cristofori's design, the check was still unnecessary.
► food· But consumer groups, which have insisted that genetically modified foods should be labelled as such, rejected the plan.· Prince Charles has been loud in his condemnation of genetically modified food.· The genetically modified food giant, Monsanto, has been forced to revolutionise its image because of public unease.· Each year developments in processing modify our foods more and more.
► law· In the transition period planning will modify the law of value, but on the basis of the law of labour expenditure.· Our Rabbis did not shrink on occasions from modifying even the Pentateuchal law.· They are not attempting to modify the existing law in ways which would help the prosecution.
► model· To illustrate this, we modify the model and suppose that the public good is an alternative to a private good.
► module· This user is seen as the person who will create, enter and modify individual modules and packages.· You start either from scratch or by modifying an existing module, changing colors, shapes and movement.· Please ensure that you have the privilege to modify the modules.
► plan· Oddly enough, many parliaments expect to modify government plans, which takes time.· He modified his plans and built another.
► policy· However, some councils have had to modify their policies in this respect in view of the management problems on these estates.· Three questions had to be considered: Do we modify our credit acquisition policies?· Yet far from leading him to abandon or modify his policies, opposition incited him to more drastic methods.
► position· The men showed no intention of modifying their position.· He does, however, modify this position slightly in his later writings as we shall see shortly.
► process· The superoxide generated may have a direct cytotoxic effect or it may interact with inflammatory mediators to modify the inflammatory process.· Mutation has to work by modifying the existing processes of embryonic development.· Users can reportedly modify the workflow process on the fly.
► proposal· The limits within which committees may modify government proposals are fixed by the major parties.· We have modified some of our proposals in the light of the views we have received.· However, to achieve these it is necessary to modify and amplify their proposals.
► response· For we may not be able to control the behaviour or attitudes of others, but we can modify our own responses.· Learning is the process by which a neural network modifies its weights in response to external input.· In the light of the fifth commandment should you be modifying your response in some way?
► structure· We should develop or modify existing structures as well as work out new ones.· To signal these relationships, links have been incorporated into the document, modifying the structure.
► system· This regressive nature of the community charge is modified by the systems of rebates and exemptions.· Epic has since modified the basic system for use in prisons and social service agencies.· Just use the S3 engine mounts and clutch plate and modified 110 exhaust system.· A: The modified central leader system is recommended for pears.
► use· It could still be modified for use, provided it was backed up with some new, stronger coercion.
► view· The most appealing strategy is integration or collaboration, by which groups in conflict modify their views and seek a third alternative.· Malcolm modified his views toward integration shortly before his assassination on February 21, l965.· The examination of archaeological evidence can, though, sometimes modify such a view.· Every time, the unit of measurement modifies the view.· In deciding objectives, be prepared to modify your views.· Even Krupskaia at the hub of power quickly modified her earlier liberal views concerning the inculcation of political culture.
► way· For the embryos which are implanted after screening have not been genetically modified in any way.
VERB► create· This user is seen as the person who will create, enter and modify individual modules and packages.· V.. How to create and modify setup strings varies among operating systems and specific software.· The Schema Builder will enable all parts of the database schema to be created or modified in a graphical environment.
► need· This conclusion needs to be modified in the light of the changes in local government.· Specifically they agreed that Iberian needed to modify performance objectives for dealers and redo budgets and compensation schemes.· There are experimental findings to suggest that Wagner's theory needs to be modified in this respect.· If the searches uncover similar ideas you may need to modify your invention to get around areas others bagged first.· The intention is to illustrate how the conclusions regarding tax incidence may need to be modified when markets do not clear.· Where the model is extended, these results need to be modified.· How do the conclusions need to be modified when there are departures from the assumptions of perfect competition?
WORD FAMILYnounmodificationadjectivemodified ≠ unmodifiedverbmodify
1to make small changes to something in order to improve it and make it more suitable or effective SYN adapt: The feedback will be used to modify the course for next year. The regulations can only be modified by a special committee.modify something to do something The seats can be modified to fit other types of vehicle.2technical if an adjective, adverb etc modifies another word, it describes something or limits the word’s meaning. In the phrase ‘walk slowly’, the adverb ‘slowly’ modifies the verb ‘walk’.