modality

1. 1.

   a classification of propositions on the basis of whether they claim necessity or possibility or impossibility

   Synonymsmode

   Broaderlogical relation
2. 2.

   verb inflections that express how the action or state is conceived by the speaker

   Synonymsmoodmode

   Broadergrammatical relation

   Narrowerindicative moodsubjunctive moodoptative moodimperative moodinterrogative mood
3. 3.

   a particular sense

   Synonymssense modalitysensory system

   Broadersense

   Narrowersightsomatosensehearingtastesmell
4. 4.

   a method of therapy that involves physical or electrical therapeutic treatment

   Broadertreatment

   Narrowerdiathermy

   Part ofphysical therapy

Other forms of modality

plural

modalities·

Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.

Questions about modality

What does modality mean?

modality means "a classification of propositions on the basis of whether they claim necessity or possibility or impossibility". That is the primary sense; the word has 4 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in modality?

modality has 4 syllables: mo-dal-i-ty. The stress falls on "dal". In IPA it is /məˈdæləti/.

What is another word for modality?

Close synonyms include mode, mood, mode, sense modality, sensory system. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is modality a common word?

modality is banded "Rare" — specialist or archaic — most readers will not have met it. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.