Modifying

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The process whereby alterations are made to improve, enhance, or adapt an object or idea is known as adjustment
2. Involves changing the elements or properties of something to achieve desired improvements or functionality
3. The act of making changes to something in order to adapt or enhance its function or appearance

Etymology: "Modify" carries a surprisingly narrow core. Its Latin ancestor "modificari" meant "to measure off" or "to set a bound to," and the older verb "modificare" leaned toward limiting, controlling or regulating. So the idea underneath it is less about changing something than about fixing its measure, keeping it within proper limits. The change came from the limit, not the other way round. The word is built from "modus," meaning "measure," and "facere," meaning "to make" or "do." Combined, they describe making something to a particular measure. That measure-making sense explains why the word once sat so comfortably with moderation and restraint, qualities a Roman would have expected a careful adjustment to deliver. It reached English through Middle French "modifier," and Middle English took it as "modifien." The modern sense of altering something in detail, which is what "modifying" conveys when you make careful changes, grew out of that older idea of bringing something within bounds.

Synonyms: altering, adjusting, changing, amending, varying

Antonyms: maintaining, preserving, stabilizing, unchanging, fixing