as in updating
to adapt to modern needs, taste, or usage
a proposal to modernize the old school and bring it into the 21st century
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Recent Examples of modernizing
Under his direction, Sheetz grew from a regional chain into a multi-state enterprise, expanding its footprint across Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and Ohio while modernizing store offerings.
—
Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 6 Jan. 2026
Since then, there have been major improvements in modernizing the levees and flood risk management.
—Kayla Moeller, CBS News, 3 Jan. 2026
But in the 1950s, the Ecke family began modernizing breeding so that the plant was more suited to growing in containers.
—Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 25 Dec. 2025
Reports suggest China is growing and modernizing its weapons faster than any other nuclear power, a charge that Beijing has denied.
—Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 23 Dec. 2025
In addition to replacing the wooden trough, the agency also continued the build out of the Green Line Train Protection System, meant to prevent head-on collisions on the tracks, and other improvements, including modernizing signals and brightening stations.
—Colleen Cronin, Boston Herald, 21 Dec. 2025
My record is cutting taxes, cutting waste, opposing utility rate hikes and modernizing systems.
—Rishi Kumar, Mercury News, 20 Dec. 2025
This decision reflects listening to people across the country and taking a practical step toward modernizing outdated policies.
—Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 18 Dec. 2025
Rejecting the streamlining and modernizing approach of many recent translations, Mendelsohn artfully reproduces the epic’s formal qualities—meter, enjambment, alliteration, assonance—and in so doing restores to Homer’s masterwork its archaic grandeur.
—Literary Hub, 10 Nov. 2025
Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 6 Jan. 2026
Since then, there have been major improvements in modernizing the levees and flood risk management.
—Kayla Moeller, CBS News, 3 Jan. 2026
But in the 1950s, the Ecke family began modernizing breeding so that the plant was more suited to growing in containers.
—Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 25 Dec. 2025
Reports suggest China is growing and modernizing its weapons faster than any other nuclear power, a charge that Beijing has denied.
—Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 23 Dec. 2025
In addition to replacing the wooden trough, the agency also continued the build out of the Green Line Train Protection System, meant to prevent head-on collisions on the tracks, and other improvements, including modernizing signals and brightening stations.
—Colleen Cronin, Boston Herald, 21 Dec. 2025
My record is cutting taxes, cutting waste, opposing utility rate hikes and modernizing systems.
—Rishi Kumar, Mercury News, 20 Dec. 2025
This decision reflects listening to people across the country and taking a practical step toward modernizing outdated policies.
—Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 18 Dec. 2025
Rejecting the streamlining and modernizing approach of many recent translations, Mendelsohn artfully reproduces the epic’s formal qualities—meter, enjambment, alliteration, assonance—and in so doing restores to Homer’s masterwork its archaic grandeur.
—Literary Hub, 10 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for modernizing
Verb
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Agencies were instructed to identify roles meeting that standard, while the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) was tasked with updating personnel rules to reflect the new classification.—
James Broughel,
Forbes.com,
30 Jan. 2026
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Listen to our Greatest Pop Stars podcast discussion about Bad Bunny’s stunningly full year here, and find the rest of our updating top 10 list with all our corresponding essays and pods here.—
Isabela Raygoza,
Billboard,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
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A lot of companies are still trying to retrofit AI into existing workflows, while the genuine visionaries are redesigning entire workflows with AI as the foundation.—
Mark Minevich,
Forbes.com,
30 Jan. 2026
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This modularity reflects an increasingly industry trend in flexible robot architecture, where components like hands, arms, or even mobility bases can be switched around for other applications without the need for redesigning an entire system.—
Daniel Fusch,
USA Today,
24 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Hayden Road will be closed to general public vehicle traffic from Frank Lloyd Wright to Princess Drive, further streamlining both the entry and exit process.—
Ed Masley,
AZCentral.com,
29 Jan. 2026
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Among the benefits of the reorganization will be streamlining decision-making and the chain of command of fire personnel, while coordinating with the DOI’s land management bureaus.—
Noël Fletcher,
Forbes.com,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
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In the film, Black and Rudd star as Doug and Griff, childhood friends who have long dreamed of remaking their favorite movie, the 1997 giant snake horror adventure Anaconda.—
Tim Lammers,
Forbes.com,
24 Jan. 2026
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Trump’s entire doctrine is naked rapacity, from Venezuela to hijacking the Kennedy Center to hideously remaking the White House in his own gaudy image.—
Maureen Dowd,
Mercury News,
21 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Modernizing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/modernizing. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
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