alter
verb (used with object)
to make different in some particular, as size, style, course, or the like; modify.
Trivia Time
In Greek mythology, which shape-shifting sea god could alter his appearance at will?
alter
1 American
[awl-ter]
/ ˈɔl tər /
verb (used with object)
-
alters,
present (3rd person singular)
-
altered,
past participle, past
-
altering
present participle
-
to make different in some particular, as size, style, course, or the like; modify.
to alter a coat; to alter a will; to alter course.
-
to castrate or spay.
verb (used without object)
-
alters,
present (3rd person singular)
-
altered,
past participle, past
-
altering
present participle
Alter
2
American
[awl-ter]
/ ˈɔl tər /
noun
alter.
3
American
abbreviation
alter
British
/ ˈɔːltə /
verb
Usage
What is another way to say alter?
To alter something is to make it different in some particular way, such as in size, style, or course. How does alter compare to change? Find out on Thesaurus.com.
Synonym Usage
See adjust,
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
alterabilitynoun
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alterernoun
-
realterverb
-
prealterverb (used with object)
-
alterableadjective
-
half-alteredadjective
-
unalteringadjective
-
well-alteredadjective
-
alterablyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
altersimple
-
alterssimple
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have alteredperfect
-
has alteredperfect
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am alteringprogressive
-
are alteringprogressive
-
is alteringprogressive
-
have been alteringperfect progressive
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has been alteringperfect progressive
Past
-
alteredsimple
-
had alteredperfect
-
was alteringprogressive
-
were alteringprogressive
-
had been alteringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of alter
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Old French alterer, from Late Latin alterāre “to change, worsen,” derivative of Latin alter “other”
Explanation
After eating too many gingerbread cookies, she no longer fit into her uniform, so she had a seamstress alter it. It looked pretty much the same. The verb alter can also mean to neuter or spay. Think of a cat that has just been spayed: the cat you pick up from the vet is the same cat that you dropped off there, only perhaps a little groggy and unable to reproduce. While the cat has been altered, it's not a different cat.
Vocabulary lists containing alter
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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Commonly Confused Words, List 1
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Words to Know Before You Defrost the Bird
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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.
See Examples For:
Off-track conversation has been dominated by this all year, and rules are changing for next year to alter the energy split to try to ameliorate the issue.
From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026
An attacker cannot alter its passage but could make clocks disagree.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026
That observation could be important for future cancer research because treatments that alter leucine related pathways may affect both healthy cells and tumor cells in different ways.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 3, 2026
Rather than physically removing tissue, EMR uses a small electric potential to temporarily alter the chemical environment inside the tissue.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 29, 2026
Laney—the youngest Vanderbeeker—had transformed into her alter ego, Panda-Laney.
From "The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street" by Karina Yan Glaser
A longtime writer on green architecture, Alter believes that the most sustainable building is the one that remains useful the longest.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
As the Soviets rounded up hundreds of Bundists in Poland, party leaders such as Henryk Erlich and Viktor Alter fled.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
The most worrisome effects, Alter says, actually appear in those of us who sit nine hours or more a day.
From Barron's ● Jun. 27, 2026
Another new festival coming to Wales is Blackbird - a rock event at Cardiff Castle on 27 June, with acts including Skindred, Alter Bridge and Cardinal Black.
From BBC ● Apr. 10, 2026
Conversation Alter Soccer Come on, man, just wait with me.
From "Booked" by Kwame Alexander
"No-one ever thought it would alter. Their way of life was constant and familiar, as it had been as long as anyone could remember."
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2021
Both 4to 1679 and 1724 read'false souly', which I have ventured to alter. p.
From The Works of Aphra Behn, Volume II by Montague Summers
Whether the latest upswing in crude prices alters their longer-term outlook remains to be seen, as Brent’s return to triple digits sends government bond yields higher.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
In her version, Bernhard alters the lyrics to pay tribute to Sylvester, whose untimely death left an immense legacy.
From Salon ● Sep. 5, 2026
Infant formula is designed to provide the correct balance of nutrients for babies when mothers cannot or choose not to breastfeed, and adding extra water alters that balance.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
Because Donaldjohanson's shape is uneven, those tiny forces do not cancel out completely and instead create a twisting effect that gradually alters the asteroid's rotation.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 25, 2026
“But surely it alters them very much, living like that?” asked Dandelion.
From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams
"These images might be altered using photo-editing tools or filters, people standing in particular poses, use of lighting, lots could even be AI-generated," she says.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
The yields can be altered depending on the type of crude used and the configuration of the refinery, but not by much.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
Metabolites are small molecules produced or altered during metabolism, including compounds created by gut microbes as they process food and other substances.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 28, 2026
Japanese cooks are working with a brand-new selection of seafood, since El Nino has altered ocean migratory routes.
From Barron's ● Sep. 26, 2026
I might take to gardening myself, and in time have one or two things altered.
From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier
By altering this protective environment rather than targeting only the cancer cells themselves, vitamin D analogs could offer a way to make other therapies more effective.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 4, 2026
The little-marketed benefit is altering the traditional math around when to claim.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026
Experts estimated that close to 400,000 people remain at risk from a myriad of life altering ailments.
From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2026
This includes for things like replacing windows or altering roofs.
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026
Master Twyti came every Christmas without altering a hair.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
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.
