modality

American  

[moh-dal-i-tee] / moʊˈdæl ɪ ti /

noun

• modalities
  plural

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

Derived Forms

• multimodality
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• modalities
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of modality

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

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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

See Examples For:

modality modalities

Then I learned about walking therapy, or “walk-and-talks,” a mental health modality that’s becoming increasingly popular.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026

Moderna and Merck’s promising new cancer vaccine signals the arrival of an exciting new treatment modality.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026

Rigetti favors a modality called superconducting quantum, building modular, multi-chip processors and operating them at near-absolute zero temperatures.

From Barron's ● Jun. 9, 2026

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

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 Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel

"Nepal is actually driving us into how the fund is going to look like when it comes to rapid disbursement modalities," said Brenda Mwale, outreach lead at the Loss and Damage Collaboration.

From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2026

The experience inspired him to learn other healing modalities, including breath work and sound meditation: the latter of which reignited his musical appreciation.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026

"We will be working on the modalities - dates, procedures, places - very soon."

From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2026

AI deepfakes have been rapidly improving in accuracy and modalities, allowing hackers to easily create large volumes of highly personalized scams with just a few prompts.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 18, 2026

The EMI shall go into liquidation upon the establishment of the ECB; the modalities of liquidation are laid down in the Statute of the EMI.

From The Treaty of the European Union, Maastricht Treaty, 7th February, 1992 by European Union

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