# amendment

Pronunciation: say "uh-MEND-muhnt" US /ʌˈmɛnd.mənt/, UK /əˈmɛndmənt/

## Noun

1. A change to a bill or motion in a legislative body that adds, alters, replaces, or removes wording.
   - Simple: A change someone suggests to a bill or motion before a group votes on it.
   - _The committee adopted an amendment that struck two controversial clauses from the bill._
   - _She proposed an amendment to substitute milder wording in the motion._
2. An addition or change to the Constitution, the foundational law of the nation. *(US)*
   - Simple: A formal change or addition to the Constitution.
   - _The Nineteenth Amendment gave women the right to vote._
   - _Ratifying an amendment requires approval from three-quarters of the states._
3. A change for the better, especially the correction of a fault or the reform of one's conduct.
   - Simple: A change that makes something better, or that fixes a fault in how someone lives.
   - _The bishop urged amendment of life and a turning away from old vices._
   - _Genuine amendment requires more than apology; it means changing one's habits._
4. Material or content added to increase, improve, or supplement something.
   - Simple: Something added to make a thing fuller or better.
   - _The gardener spread a generous amendment of well-rotted manure across the beds._
   - _Each amendment to the mixture changed its texture and strength._
5. The correction of an error in a writ or other legal process.
   - Simple: Fixing a mistake in an official legal paper.
   - _The judge permitted an amendment to the pleading after spotting a clerical error._
   - _Counsel sought an amendment to correct the misnamed party in the writ._

## Origin

From French amendement, from Late Latin amendamentum, equivalent to the verb amend plus the suffix -ment.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/amendment (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).