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qualifying

qualifying

56 6.2
A word or phrase that changes the meaning of another word in a sentence
  • noun
  • /ˈkwɑːlɪfaɪɪŋ/
  • Specialized
translation icon : modificador
  • Saturday's track action was highlighted by Formula 1 qualifying and Historic Grand Prix practice.
  • qualifying adjective
  • add qualifying adjectives

Examples

  • In English grammar, an adjective is often used as a qualifying word to limit the meaning of a noun.

  • Welcome to today's World Cup qualifying match between Tonga and American Samoa.

  • We never even won a regional qualifying match.

  • We are moments away from the start of the European qualifying race.

  • You almost missed the final qualifying matches.

  • My training has been going great; all my qualifying tests are up.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • In turn, states were expected to award money to qualifying districts or schools through subgrants.

    Academic text (2015)
  • He was a track star and just missed qualifying for the Olympics in '76.

  • At least one of the criteria must be met by a qualifying score on a nationally normed standardized test.

    Academic text (1997)
  • In previous years, as many as 700 students have taken the qualifying exam, which has both multiple-choice and open-response questions.

    Academic text (1993)

Synonyms

modification
vsqualifying
  • Specialized
8 5.1

A word that says more about another word, like an adjective or adverb

is the action or role term used to describe that limiting function

Antonyms

43 5.3

A statement that applies to many people or situations

Compounds

qualifying adjective
  • Specialized
6.5

A word that describes a quality of a person, place, or thing

Surface Forms

qualifying singular

Morphology

qualifying = qualify (transparent) = qualify + ing

A standard verbal gerund/nominalization: 'qualify' + '-ing' yields the action or role of qualifying which learners can derive from the verb.

Etymology

Qualifying comes from the same root as quality, from an old word meaning 'what kind'. So a qualifying word describes the 'kind' of something or limits the meaning of another word, which is why a qualifying adjective changes or narrows a noun's meaning.