Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of verb modernize

2 senses of modernize

Sense 1
overhaul, modernize, modernise -- (make repairs, renovations, revisions or adjustments to; "You should overhaul your car engine"; "overhaul the health care system")
       => regenerate, renew -- (reestablish on a new, usually improved, basis or make new or like new; "We renewed our friendship after a hiatus of twenty years"; "They renewed their membership")

Sense 2
modernize, modernise, develop -- (become technologically advanced; "Many countries in Asia are now developing at a very fast pace"; "Viet Nam is modernizing rapidly")
       => change -- (undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature; "She changed completely as she grew older"; "The weather changed last night")