modify

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
modify/ˈmɒdɪfʌɪ/

▶verb (modifies, modifying, modified)

• 1 make partial changes to.

  ■ Biology transform (a structure) during development or evolution.

  ■ Phonetics pronounce (a speech sound) differently from the norm.

• 2 Grammar qualify the sense of (a noun).

– derivatives
modifiable adjective,
modificatory adjective.

– origin ME: from OFr. modifier, from L. modificare, from modus (see mode).