v.
Pronunciation: ' mä-d ə - ˌ f ī
Function: verb
Inflected Form: -fied ; -fy · ing
Etymology: Middle English modifien, from Anglo-French modifier, from Latin modificare to measure, moderate, from modus
Date: 14th century
transitive verb
1 : to make less extreme : MODERATE
2 a : to limit or restrict the meaning of especially in a grammatical construction b : to change (a vowel) by umlaut
3 a : to make minor changes in b : to make basic or fundamental changes in often to give a new orientation to or to serve a new end <the wing of a bird is an arm modified for flying>
intransitive verb : to undergo change
synonyms see CHANGE
– mod · i · fi · abil · i · ty \ ˌ mä-d ə - ˌ f ī - ə - ' bi-l ə -t ē \ noun
– mod · i · fi · able \ ' mä-d ə - ˌ f ī - ə -b ə l \ adjective