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📕 rednote ID(小红书号)：3881567312

Modify: Definition, Usage & Examples Explained (2 meaning)

Meaning 1：make small changes (modify)

modify 🔊

/ˈmɒd.ɪ.faɪ/

vt.

To make small changes to something to make it work better or be more suitable.

Illustration of modifying a recipe by changing sugar to honey with a pen.

make small changes 🔊

➕

/meɪk smɔːl ˈtʃeɪndʒɪz/

vt.

To alter something slightly, typically to improve it, correct it, or make it fit a new purpose.

📁 Category：Technological Inventions 🔖 Level：Intermediate

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Root Explanation

From Latin 'modificare' (to measure, limit), from 'modus' (manner) + 'facere' (to make).

💡 Mnemonic

Imagine a MODEL (mod) that you need to slightly 'IFY' (make or do). You MOD-IFY the model a bit.

📖 Example

After testing the first version, the designer decided to modify the shape of the handle to make it more comfortable to hold. 🔊 Following initial tests, the designer opted to alter the handle's form slightly for better comfort.

🔗 Collocations

modify a plan – to make adjustments to a previously established strategy

modify behavior – to change one's actions or conduct, often through learning or conditioning

modify a document – to edit or make revisions to a file or written text

🔄 Synonyms

adjust (vt.) – to change something slightly to make it fit or work better

alter (vt.) – to change in character, composition, or structure

adapt (vt.) – to make suitable for a new use or purpose

🚫 Antonyms

preserve (vt.) – to maintain something in its original state

maintain (vt.) – to keep something in an existing state

retain (vt.) – to continue to have something; to keep unchanged

🌱 Derivatives

modification (n.) – a change or adjustment made to something

modifiable (adj.) – capable of being changed or altered

modifier (n.) – something that modifies, or a word that qualifies another word

📖 Cultural Story

Derived from Latin 'modus' (manner, measure) and 'facere' (to make), implying 'to make according to measure'. It entered English in the 14th century, reflecting the human impulse to refine and adjust things to fit a standard or new purpose.

Meaning 2：describe or limit grammatically (modify)

modify 🔊

/ˈmɒd.ɪ.faɪ/

vt.

(In grammar) To describe or limit the meaning of another word in a sentence, like an adjective to a noun.

Diagram showing how an adjective modifies a noun in English grammar.

describe or limit grammatically 🔊

➕

/dɪˈskraɪb ɔː ˈlɪmɪt ɡrəˈmætɪkli/

vt.

In grammar, to qualify or add meaning to another word, phrase, or clause, typically making its reference more specific.

📁 Category：Language Evolution 🔖 Level：Advanced

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Example

In the phrase ‘a beautiful garden’, the word ‘beautiful’ is used to modify the noun ‘garden’. 🔊 Within the expression 'a beautiful garden', the term 'beautiful' functions to describe the noun 'garden'.

🔗 Collocations

modify a noun – to act as an adjective that describes or qualifies a noun

modify a verb – to act as an adverb that describes or qualifies a verb

modifying phrase – a group of words that acts as a single modifier

🔄 Synonyms

qualify (vt.) – to add descriptive detail or limitation to a statement or word

describe (vt.) – to give an account in words of something

🌱 Derivatives

modifier (n.) – a word, phrase, or clause that qualifies or describes another word