Learn English – What’s the difference between revise, amend and modify

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When you revise, amend and modify something, your intention is all to improve them. so does it mean I can use them interchangeably?

Best Answer

Modify does not necessarily mean changing something for the better - just changing in general. The other two words imply more strongly that whatever it is you're amending or revising has some problem which needs to be fixed.

As for the difference between the other two - they're similar in meaning, but amending something is generally a shorter process focused on singular issues, while revising is more involved and typically means you've re-checked everything and made changes as necessary.

So in short:

  • if you modified your thesis, you made some changes to it, without saying what the changes are and whether they improve things or not,
  • if you amended your thesis, you corrected a few mistakes, likely related to a single issue
  • if you revised your thesis, you probably re-read all of it and fixed all the issues you've found