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alter - 9 dictionary results

al⋅ter

  [awl-ter]
Use alter in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
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.
–verb (used without object)
3. to change; become different or modified.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME < OF alterer < LL alterāre to change, worsen, deriv. of L alter other

Related forms:
al⋅ter⋅er, noun

Synonyms:
1. See adjust, change.

Al⋅ter

  [awl-ter]
–noun
David, 1807–81, U.S. physicist.

alter.

 
alteration.

alt

  [alt] Music.
–adjective
1. high.
–noun
2. in alt, in the first octave above the treble staff.
Origin:
1525–35; < Pr < L altum, n. use of neut. of altus high
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To alter
al·ter   (ôl'tər)   
v.   al·tered, al·ter·ing, al·ters

v.   tr.
  1. To change or make different; modify: altered my will.
  2. To adjust (a garment) for a better fit.
  3. To castrate or spay (an animal, such as a cat or a dog).
v.   intr.
To change or become different.

[Middle English alteren, from Old French alterer, from Medieval Latin alterāre, from Latin alter, other; see al-1 in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Alter

Al"ter\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Altered; p. pr. & vb. n. Altering.] [F. alt['e]rer, LL. alterare, fr. L. alter other, alius other. Cf. Else, Other.]

1. To make otherwise; to change in some respect, either partially or wholly; to vary; to modify. "To alter the king's course." "To alter the condition of a man." "No power in Venice can alter a decree." --Shak.

It gilds all objects, but it alters none. --Pope.

My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips. --Ps. lxxxix. 34.

2. To agitate; to affect mentally. [Obs.] --Milton.

3. To geld. [Colloq.]

Syn: Change, Alter.

Usage: Change is generic and the stronger term. It may express a loss of identity, or the substitution of one thing in place of another; alter commonly expresses a partial change, or a change in form or details without destroying identity.

Alter

Al"ter\, v. i. To become, in some respects, different; to vary; to change; as, the weather alters almost daily; rocks or minerals alter by exposure. "The law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not." --Dan. vi. 8.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : alter
Spanish: cambiar, modificar, alterar,
German: (sich) ändern,
Japanese: 変わる
More Translations »

alter 
c.1374, "to change (something)," from O.Fr. altérer, from M.L. alterare, from L. alter "the other (of the two)," from PIE *al- "beyond" + comp. suffix -ter (cf. other). Intr. sense "to become otherwise" first recorded 1590. Alteration "change in ready-made clothes to suit a customer's specifications" is from 1901.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: al·ter
Pronunciation: 'ol-t&r
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms: al·tered; al·ter·ing /-t(&-)ri[ng]/
: CASTRATE 1, SPAY
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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