modificar
verbUpper-intermediate
What does “modificar” mean in English?
to modify, to change
to modify, to change (modificar una ley/el diseño — make changes to something to improve it or adapt it)
Example sentences
El parlamento aprobó una ley para modificar el sistema de pensiones y adaptarlo a la nueva realidad demográfica.
Parliament passed a law to modify the pension system and adapt it to the new demographic reality.
El contrato fue modificado de común acuerdo para incluir una cláusula de revisión anual del precio.
The contract was modified by mutual agreement to include an annual price review clause.
El diseñador propuso modificar la interfaz para hacerla más intuitiva y accesible a usuarios sin experiencia técnica.
The designer proposed modifying the interface to make it more intuitive and accessible to users without technical experience.
How to use it
Modificar means 'to modify', 'to change', or 'to alter'. Structure: modificar algo (modify something). It implies a partial, targeted change — not a complete overhaul. At B2, it appears in legal, technical, and policy contexts: modificar una ley, modificar el contrato, modificar el diseño. The noun is la modificación. Don't confuse with alterar (alter — often implies disruption or negative change) or reformar (reform — more structural, systemic change).
Common mistake
Modificar (targeted change — adjust/adapt part of something) vs. reformar (reform — broader structural change). 'Modificaron el artículo 5 del contrato' (they modified article 5 — targeted). 'Reformaron el sistema educativo' (they reformed the education system — structural overhaul). Modificar is more surgical; reformar is more wholesale.
Topics
Related Upper-intermediate words
Reference
This entry’s teaching guidance follows Plan Curricular del Instituto Cervantes (Instituto Cervantes), B2 Funciones 6.78.