What does "qualify" mean?
An instance of throwing and catching each prop at least twice.
Qualify
/ˈkwɒl.ɪ.faɪ/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: An instance of throwing and catching each prop at least twice.
- Grammar: qualify is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: abate, accommodate, adapt, adjust.
- Useful contrasts: unfit, unfitted, unfitting.
- Usage evidence: How early do I have to make a reservation to qualify for the discount?
How to use "qualify"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "qualify" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "qualify" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "qualify" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "qualify" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "qualify" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "abate" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "qualify", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 An instance of throwing and catching each prop at least twice.
Verb
- 1 To describe or characterize something by listing its qualities.
- 2 add a modifier to a constituent wordnet
- 3 To successfully fall under some category or description by meeting requisite conditions.
"Descartes's methodism with its regulative criterion leads him to explicitly deny that accidentally true belief qualifies as knowledge."
- 4 make more specific wordnet
- 5 To make someone, or to become competent or eligible for some position or task.
"He had qualified himself for municipal office by taking the oaths to the sovereigns in possession."
Show 11 more definitions
- 6 make fit or prepared wordnet
- 7 To certify or license someone for something.
- 8 describe or portray the character or the qualities or peculiarities of wordnet
- 9 To modify, limit, restrict or moderate something; especially to add conditions or requirements for an assertion to be true.
"O! never say that I was false of heart, Though absence seem'd my flame to qualify"
- 10 pronounce fit or able wordnet
- 11 To mitigate, alleviate (something); to make less disagreeable. archaic
"he balmes and herbes thereto applyde, / And euermore with mighty spels them charmd, / That in short space he has them qualifyde, / And him restor'd to health, that would haue algates dyde."
- 12 specify as a condition or requirement in a contract or agreement; make an express demand or provision in an agreement wordnet
- 13 To compete successfully in some stage of a competition and become eligible for the next stage.
- 14 prove capable or fit; meet requirements wordnet
- 15 To give individual quality to; to modulate; to vary; to regulate.
"It hath no larynx […] to qualify the sound."
- 16 To throw and catch each object at least twice.
"to qualify seven balls you need at least fourteen catches"
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"How early do I have to make a reservation to qualify for the discount?"
Common questions
What is a synonym for "qualify"?
Common synonyms include: abate, accommodate, adapt, adjust, adjust to, alter.
How do you use "qualify" in a sentence?
How early do I have to make a reservation to qualify for the discount?
How do you pronounce "qualify"?
Pronounced /ˈkwɒl.ɪ.faɪ/.
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French qualifier (“to qualify”). Equivalent to quality + -fy.