noun
-
an adjustment, change, or modification
-
the act of altering or state of being altered
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of alteration
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English alteracioun, from Medieval Latin alterātiōn-, stem of alterātiō; equivalent to alter + -ation
Explanation
The pants are too long, the jacket too tight and the vest is too short. Looks like your suit is in need of some serious alteration, or adjustment. No one knows alterations like tailors. All they do is adjust, modify and otherwise alter people's ill fitting clothes. But hemlines aren't the only things that can undergo alteration. Savvy scientists may someday make alterations to genetic sequencing — just like Dr. Jekyll underwent some serious alterations to become Mr. Hyde.
Vocabulary lists containing alteration
Vocabulary from The Articles of Confederation
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Seedfolks
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Alteration in kinases, which modify many other molecules, have been implicated in driving many cancers.
From Science Daily • Jun. 18, 2024
Alteration of the environment is making it, at this rate, a place in which these coevolved animals can no longer live.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 2, 2024
Alteration to the ocean microbiome is causing warming waters and overgrowths of harmful algal blooms that choke out other life.
From Salon • Jul. 1, 2021
The groom, 32, is a founder of Label, a luxury custom clothing brand, and Alteration Specialists, a full-service tailoring company, both in Manhattan.
From New York Times • Nov. 24, 2019
What can be more strange than that the rubbing of a little hair and cat-gut together, should make such a mighty Alteration in a Man that sits at a distance?
From Primitive Psycho-Therapy and Quackery by Lawrence, Robert Means
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
