alter
[ awl-ter ]
verb (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)
to change; become different or modified.
Origin of alter
1First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Old French alterer, from Late Latin alterāre “to change, worsen,” derivative of Latin alter “other”
synonym study For alter
1. See adjust,
Other words from alter
- al·ter·er, noun
- half-altered, adjective
- pre·al·ter, verb (used with object)
- re·al·ter, verb
- un·al·ter·ing, adjective
- well-altered, adjective
Words that may be confused with alter
- altar, alter
Other definitions for Alter (2 of 3)
Alter
[ awl-ter ]
noun
David, 1807–81, U.S. physicist.
Other definitions for alter. (3 of 3)
alter.
abbreviation
alteration.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
British Dictionary definitions for alter
alter
/ (ˈɔːltə) /
Origin of alter
1C14: from Old French alterer, from Medieval Latin alterāre to change, from Latin alter other
Derived forms of alter
- alterable, adjective
- alterably, adverb
- alterability, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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