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• alter
  alter

  verb (used with object)

  to make different in some particular, as size, style, course, or the like; modify.
• Alter
  Alter

  noun

  David, 1807–81, U.S. physicist.
• alter.
  alter.

  abbreviation

  alteration.

alter

¹ American  

[awl-ter] / ˈɔl tər /

verb (used with object)

• alters,
  present (3rd person singular)
• altered,
  past participle,  past
• altering
  present participle

1. 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.

2. to castrate or spay.

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verb (used without object)

• alters,
  present (3rd person singular)
• altered,
  past participle,  past
• altering
  present participle

1. to change; become different or modified.

Alter ² American  

[awl-ter] / ˈɔl tər /

noun

1. David, 1807–81, U.S. physicist.

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alter. ³ American  

abbreviation

1. alteration.

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alter British  

/ ˈɔːltə /

verb

1. to make or become different in some respect; change

2. informal (tr) a euphemistic word for castrate spay

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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

• alterability
  noun
• alterer
  noun
• realter
  verb
• prealter
  verb (used with object)
• alterable
  adjective
• half-altered
  adjective
• unaltering
  adjective
• well-altered
  adjective
• alterably
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• altering
  present
• altered
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• alter
  simple
• alters
  simple
• have altered
  perfect
• has altered
  perfect
• am altering
  progressive
• are altering
  progressive
• is altering
  progressive
• have been altering
  perfect progressive
• has been altering
  perfect progressive

Past

• altered
  simple
• had altered
  perfect
• was altering
  progressive
• were altering
  progressive
• had been altering
  perfect progressive

Future

• will alter
  simple
• will have altered
  perfect
• will be altering
  progressive
• will have been altering
  perfect progressive

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

alter Alter alter. alters altered altering

Since FDR’s project, Congress passed a law recognizing that the president has authority to alter and improve the White House.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

Maternal age effects may be controlled by epigenetic processes that change how genes are used rather than by mutations that alter the underlying DNA sequence.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 19, 2026

She knows her film won’t single-handedly change the world or even alter specific policies, but she does believe it can have an impact.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026

The self-styled intergalactic space warrior - who finished second to Nigel Farage in the Clacton by-election - is the alter ego of comedian Jon Harvey.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

It is not books as physical objects that are required to underwrite the fact; it is sources that don’t alter and change from one day to the next, of which books remain the clearest manifestation.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

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

Toronto-based architect and author Lloyd Alter has been sounding the alarm for years about the part of the house he calls the “killer bathroom.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

“To the extent we think oxygen is the golden nugget to live on earth, our use of oxygen is really important,” Alter told Barron’s.

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

“You look sick, Alter, do you know that?”

From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros

"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

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

He used his remission to promote CAR T-cell therapy, which genetically alters one’s cells to fight cancer, after he said chemotherapy stopped working.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026

Moreover, the repeal of this rule substantially alters settlement dynamics.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 17, 2026

"As climate change alters wind patterns and ocean flows, wind stress and currents could change the direction of energy flux. Understanding the forces that create this change can lead to more accurate models."

From Science Daily ● Jun. 3, 2026

Yes, urged foreign minister Shigenori Togo, because America’s atomic bomb “drastically alters the whole military situation.”

From "Bomb" by Steve Sheinkin

The darker streaks contain surface dust and rocks that have been altered over long periods by solar wind, galactic cosmic rays, and impacts from micrometeorites.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 20, 2026

He transformed the interior and altered the exterior windows, making it difficult for the characters to see the dangers circling outside.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026

A second draft of the letter, dated March 4, contained altered language providing that the voter information would be “transferred” to HSI, with one exception: Voters’ party affiliation would be redacted, if possible, it said.

From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026

A Harris poll finds that more than half of parents with young children across faiths say safety concerns tied to recent events have altered their attendance habits.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

I daresay it is only a rat scrambling along the rafters of the adjoining schoolroom: it was a barn before I had it repaired and altered, and barns are generally haunted by rats.—To proceed.

From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë

He said what happened with Afropunk is “a tale as old as time” and Morgan being outside of the movement led to “moneyed interests” altering what Spooner had created.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026

Achieving that, Tiwari says, requires redesigning streets by narrowing traffic lanes, altering road surfaces and introducing other traffic-calming measures.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

The Bureau of Economic Analysis is altering how it measures several components of a price gauge watched by the Fed.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026

The debate is not about whether AI is real or whether it’s reshaping the U.S. economy by fundamentally altering corporate productivity, capital allocation and the labor market.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 20, 2026

The staff plan would, furthermore, for each of the four resident employees mean a radical altering of our respective customary duties.

From "The Remains of the Day" by Kazuo Ishiguro

Related Words

• adjust
• amend
• change
• develop
• modify
• reshape
• revamp
• revise
• shift
• transform
• vary