ramify

verb

ram·​i·​fy ˈra-mə-ˌfī 

ramified; ramifying

intransitive verb

1

: to split up into branches or constituent parts

2

: to send forth branches or extensions

transitive verb

1

: to cause to branch

2

: to separate into divisions

Did you know?

How Ramify Branched Off Latin

Ramify has been part of English since the 15th century and is an offshoot of the Latin word for "branch," which is ramus. English acquired several scientific words from ramus, including biramous ("having two branches"). Another English word derived from ramus is the now obsolete ramage, meaning "untamed" or "wild." Ramage originated in falconry—it was initially used of young hawks that had begun to fly from branch to branch in trees. The most common ramus word, though, is a direct descendant of ramify. Ramification in its oldest sense means "branch, offshoot," but is most commonly used to mean "consequence, outgrowth." Ramify started out as a scientific word, at first referring to branching parts of plants and trees and later to veins and nerves, but it soon branched out into non-scientific and even figurative uses, as in "ideas that ramify throughout society."

Synonyms

• break up
• decouple
• disassociate
• disconnect
• disjoin
• disjoint
• dissever
• dissociate
• disunite
• divide
• divorce
• part
• resolve
• separate
• sever
• split
• sunder
• uncouple
• unlink
• unyoke

Examples of ramify in a Sentence

the rise of cable television ramified the audience, creating ever smaller segments for an ever growing array of programming choices

Recent Examples on the Web

Derivatives also had the habit of magnifying volatility as the risk ramified from the underlying asset— interest rates, commodities, bonds—into the derivatives like a fuse setting off a bomb. —Scott Patterson, Fortune, 13 June 2023

The theme ramified in a couple of directions, including Alabama’s death row. —al, 21 Feb. 2023

During Silkie’s tenure in our household, he was frequently held, extravagantly complimented, and housed in a twin set of terraria connected by an ever-ramifying system of bendable plastic tubes and kitted out with an exercise wheel and a lookout tower. —Anne Fadiman, Harper’s Magazine , 10 Feb. 2023

As with king cakes – and Mardi Gras in general – the madness tends to ramify. —al, 19 Jan. 2023

For an object that is fundamentally a box, designed to keep things inside it, the shipping container is a remarkable lesson in the uncontainable nature of modern life—the way our choices, like our goods, ramify around the world. —Kathryn Schulz, The New Yorker, 30 May 2022

The outcome of the Kings River conflict will ramify throughout the Central Valley and the state. —Susie Cagle, Wired, 12 Apr. 2022

But in complex technological systems, small mistakes may rapidly ramify and compound into large problems. —Naomi Oreskes, Scientific American, 16 Aug. 2021

But as the forking paths continue to ramify, Truth is to be found not in one place, but everywhere. —Hari Kunzru, Harpers Magazine, 5 Jan. 2021

Word History

Etymology

Middle English ramifien, from Anglo-French ramifier, from Medieval Latin ramificare, from Latin ramus branch; akin to Latin radix root — more at root

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

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Kids Definition

ramify

verb

ram·​i·​fy ˈram-ə-ˌfī 

ramified; ramifying

: to spread out or split up into branches or divisions

Medical Definition

ramify

intransitive verb

ram·​i·​fy ˈram-ə-ˌfī 

ramified; ramifying

: to split up into branches or constituent parts