ramify

verb

ram·i·fy ˈra-mə-ˌfī

ramified; ramifying

Synonyms of ramify next

intransitive verb

: to split up into branches or constituent parts

: to send forth branches or extensions

transitive verb

: to cause to branch

: to separate into divisions

Did you know?

How Ramify Branched Off Latin

Ramify has been part of English since the 15th century and is an offshoot of the Latin word for "branch," which is ramus. English acquired several scientific words from ramus, including biramous ("having two branches"). Another English word derived from ramus is the now obsolete ramage, meaning "untamed" or "wild." Ramage originated in falconry—it was initially used of young hawks that had begun to fly from branch to branch in trees. The most common ramus word, though, is a direct descendant of ramify. Ramification in its oldest sense means "branch, offshoot," but is most commonly used to mean "consequence, outgrowth." Ramify started out as a scientific word, at first referring to branching parts of plants and trees and later to veins and nerves, but it soon branched out into non-scientific and even figurative uses, as in "ideas that ramify throughout society."

Example Sentences

the rise of cable television ramified the audience, creating ever smaller segments for an ever growing array of programming choices

Recent Examples on the Web The theme ramified in a couple of directions, including Alabama’s death row. —

al, 21 Feb. 2023 During Silkie’s tenure in our household, he was frequently held, extravagantly complimented, and housed in a twin set of terraria connected by an ever-ramifying system of bendable plastic tubes and kitted out with an exercise wheel and a lookout tower. —

Anne Fadiman, Harper’s Magazine , 10 Feb. 2023 As with king cakes – and Mardi Gras in general – the madness tends to ramify. —

al, 19 Jan. 2023 For an object that is fundamentally a box, designed to keep things inside it, the shipping container is a remarkable lesson in the uncontainable nature of modern life—the way our choices, like our goods, ramify around the world. —

Kathryn Schulz, The New Yorker, 30 May 2022 The outcome of the Kings River conflict will ramify throughout the Central Valley and the state. —

Susie Cagle, Wired, 12 Apr. 2022 But in complex technological systems, small mistakes may rapidly ramify and compound into large problems. —

Naomi Oreskes, Scientific American, 16 Aug. 2021 But as the forking paths continue to ramify, Truth is to be found not in one place, but everywhere. —

Hari Kunzru, Harpers Magazine, 5 Jan. 2021 These troubles ramify, with a brilliant dramatic turn, when a Philadelphia hipster (Théodore Pellerin), who earlier targeted the girls with urgent and unwanted flirtation, turns up again, in the film's third act. —

Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 12 Mar. 2020 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ramify.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English ramifien, from Anglo-French ramifier, from Medieval Latin ramificare, from Latin ramus branch; akin to Latin radix root — more at root

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use of ramify was in the 15th century

See more words from the same century