noun
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an adjustment, change, or modification
-
the act of altering or state of being altered
Other Word Forms
- prealteration noun
- proalteration adjective
- realteration noun
Etymology
Origin of alteration
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English alteracioun, from Medieval Latin alterātiōn-, stem of alterātiō; equivalent to alter + -ation
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.
The White House post offered no disclaimer that the image had been edited, and it was not immediately clear whether the alteration was done using an AI tool or other photo editing software.
From Barron's • Jan. 22, 2026
All three share the same alteration in the GPX4 gene, identified as the R152H mutation.
From Science Daily • Dec. 9, 2025
She cites an alteration in the “tone of their correspondence,” pointing to “a declaration, a recognition, or more” that “changes everything.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 21, 2025
At the time, Rahm argued that such an alteration would help the game unify.
From BBC • Nov. 4, 2025
Gene, protein, function, and fate were strung in a chain: one chemical alteration in one base pair in DNA was sufficient to “encode” a radical change in human fate.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
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.
