alter
1 Americanverb (used with object)
-
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)
noun
abbreviation
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.
Related Words
See adjust,
Other Word Forms
- alterability noun
- alterable adjective
- alterably adverb
- alterer noun
- half-altered adjective
- prealter verb (used with object)
- realter verb
- unaltering adjective
- well-altered adjective
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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Words to Know Before You Defrost the Bird
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Commonly Confused Words, List 1
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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.
It’s done at the state level, and Congress can legislate to alter the time, place, and manner of elections.
From Slate • Apr. 15, 2026
Researchers from Stockholm University, Nordita, and the University of Tübingen propose looking at how these waves subtly alter the light emitted by atoms.
From Science Daily • Apr. 10, 2026
The Cheng visit is unlikely to substantially alter the substance of Trump’s meeting with Xi, said Ryan Hass, director of the John L. Thornton China Center at the Brookings Institution.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026
It can also alter polar and tropical jet streams, sending storms on a path through Southern California and the southern United States, experts say.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026
What you alter in the remembering has yet a reality, known or not.
From "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy
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.
