quantify

verb quan·ti·fy \ ˈkwän-tə-ˌfī \

Updated on: 19 May 2018

quantified; quantifying

transitive verb

1 a (1) : to limit by a quantifier

(2) : to bind by prefixing a quantifier

b : to make explicit the logical quantity of

2 : to determine, express, or measure the quantity of

—

quantifiable

play \ˌkwän-tə-ˈfī-ə-bəl\ adjective

See quantify defined for English-language learners

Examples of quantify in a Sentence

It is difficult to quantify intelligence.
Doctors have quantified the risks of smoking cigarettes.
It is impossible to quantify the number of Web sites on the Internet.

Recent Examples of quantify from the Web

While research highlights a few strategies that work, such as friendly emails and follow-up messages that encourage claimants to come to their appointment at a job center, others are hard to quantify or replicate, such as a program’s leadership.

— sophie quinton, The Christian Science Monitor, "Career guidance may be key to reducing unemployment," 9 May 2018
Defensive performances can be hard to quantify, but most of the advanced metrics point Gobert’s way.

— the crossover staff, SI.com, "The Crossover's 2018 NBA Awards: A Rookie of the Year Battle for the Ages," 11 Apr. 2018
Postretirement health benefits, which are harder to quantify, add to that burden and have cumulatively cost states more than $100 billion since 2008, according to government financial disclosures compiled by Merritt Research Services.

— heather gillers, WSJ, "Why Are States So Strapped for Cash? There Are Two Big Reasons," 29 Mar. 2018
The full extent of these practices is hard to quantify, as is the cost to US businesses and consumers.

— evan horowitz, BostonGlobe.com, "Trump’s China tariffs could actually work," 22 Mar. 2018
What's harder to quantify but no less damaged is the image of Zuckerberg within the political world.

— chris cillizza, CNN, "How Mark Zuckerberg went from 2020 darling to political scourge," 20 Mar. 2018
With no reliable public-opinion polling on the peninsula, the impact of Russia’s media campaign is hard to quantify.

— anton troianovski, Washington Post, "Vote — or else: Crimea’s propaganda machine fans fear in closing days of Putin’s campaign," 16 Mar. 2018
With no reliable public-opinion polling on the peninsula, the impact of Russia's media campaign is hard to quantify.

— anton troianovski, chicagotribune.com, "Crimea's propaganda machine fans fear in closing days of Putin's campaign," 16 Mar. 2018
The scale of such theft is hard to comprehend, and even harder to quantify.

— sophie gilbert, The Atlantic, "The Persistent Crime of Nazi-Looted Art," 11 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'quantify.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of quantify

Medieval Latin quantificare, from Latin quantus how much

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1627

in the meaning defined at sense 2

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QUANTIFY Defined for English Language Learners

quantify

verb

: to find or calculate the quantity or amount of (something)

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