modality

American  

[moh-dal-i-tee] / moʊˈdæl ɪ ti /

noun

plural

modalities

1. the quality or state of being modal.

2. an attribute or circumstance that denotes mode or manner.

3. Also called mode.  Logic. the classification of propositions according to whether they are contingently true or false, possible, impossible, or necessary.

4. Medicine/Medical. the application of a therapeutic agent, usually a physical therapeutic agent.

5. one of the primary forms of sensation, as vision or touch.

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modality British  

/ məʊˈdælɪtɪ /

noun

1. the condition of being modal

2. a quality, attribute, or circumstance that denotes mode, mood, or manner

3. logic the property of a statement of being classified under one of the concepts studied by modal logic, esp necessity or possibility

4. any physical or electrical therapeutic method or agency

5. any of the five senses

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Other Word Forms

• multimodality noun

Etymology

Origin of modality

From the Medieval Latin word modālitās, dating back to 1610–20. See modal, -ity

Explanation

A modality is the way or mode in which something exists or is done. You might often see it used with reference to diagnostic modality, which is the way in which a disease or illness is diagnosed by a doctor. Modality shares its root with the word mode, meaning "the way in which something happens or is experienced." A sensory modality is a way of sensing, like vision or hearing. Modality in someone's voice gives a sense of the person's mood. In logic, modality has to do with whether a proposition is necessary, possible, or impossible. In general, a modality is a particular way in which something exists.

Example Sentences

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the lone dissenter, frames Colorado’s law as prohibiting merely “a dangerous therapy modality that, incidentally, involves provider speech.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026

On Friday, he told journalists: "The Donbas issue is key. It will be discussed as will be the modality of how the three sides see it."

From BBC • Jan. 23, 2026

However, D-Wave has long concentrated on a specific modality called annealing quantum computing, and only recently announced its return to gate-based quantum, the approach favored by peers like IonQ and International Business Machines.

From Barron's • Jan. 7, 2026

“It’s probably the most important fitness modality out there for longevity,” says Dr. Christina Chen, a Mayo Clinic geriatrician and host of the podcast “Aging Forward.”

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 9, 2024

It is absolute culture; for in the eternal is the real and empirical annihilation and prescription of all limited modality.

From Hegel's Philosophy of Mind by Hegel, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich