noun
-
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
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.
That dispute is settled, without major alteration to the Senate’s character.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 18, 2026
During this search, they identified a small but potentially meaningful alteration in the MET gene.
From Science Daily • Mar. 7, 2026
There are also decades of animal research that reveal pregnancy is a time of profound brain alteration for several mammals, adds Carmona.
From BBC • Mar. 4, 2026
UFC had argued that the alteration of the water carried health risks.
From Barron's • Nov. 18, 2025
He was followed by Johnnie Voight, Cleve Goins, and Doc Ratteree but the order of their entry was subject to caprice and alteration.
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
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.
