Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
🔄 To change ✏️ To falsify 🐶 To spay
to alter

to alter

459 2.5
To change something slightly or become different
  • verb
  • /ˈɔltər/
: alterar
  • The new evidence could alter the outcome of the investigation significantly.
  • alter behavior
  • alter the pattern
  • dramatically alter

But I think I'll, I'll see if you alter it for me.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • Governments can use a range of approaches to alter the economic calculus associated with behaviors.

    Academic text (2013)

  • So should we alter the model to ignore race?

  • And did this piece of technology alter it in that way?

    Film Courage

  • What we have to do is alter the experiment.

    The Right Stuff (1983)

  • How has it altered the way you view the world?

  • That observation might alter how we think of things.

  • I altered his perception a little bit.

    Shallow Hal (2001)

  • Changes to detention policy would likely also alter the type of representation received by defendants.

    Academic text (2017)

  • Traumatic stress and related behavioral disorders significantly alter students' individual, social, and academic development.

    Academic text (2013)

  • Specifically, Frost urges all parents to alter their attitudes toward control and authority.

    Academic text (2013)

Synonyms

to change
vsto alter
∞ 1.0

To make something or someone different

is about partial shifts instead of total transformation
to adjust
vsto alter
360 2.7

To change something so it is in the right position or works correctly

is broader, covering either small fixes or larger adjustments
to modify
vsto alter
229 3.2

Make small changes to something to make it more useful

means partial or larger shifts rather than full remaking it
to amend
vsto alter
115 3.9

To make small changes to a document, for example a law or statement, to correct mistakes

is more general, applying beyond formal texts and laws
to revise
vsto alter
114 3.4

Change a piece of writing to correct mistakes and make it better

is not limited to written material and covers many cases
to refine
vsto alter
68 4.0

Make something better by making a few small changes

focuses on partial improvement rather than complete remaking
to vary
vsto alter
17 2.6

Make something a little different

is about partial or larger shifts rather than variety only
to rejigger
vsto alter
  • Informal
2 7.8

To change something a little so it works better

is a general term for partial to larger shifts rather than tweaks

Antonyms

to keep
∞ 1.0

To continue doing something or stay in the same state

to preserve
504 3.4

To keep people and things safe from harm or change

Compounds

alter ego
31 6.0

A second identity that is different from a person's usual self

alter ego
1 6.5

A very close friend who seems almost part of you

How Much

to transform
478 3.4
to change
∞ 1.0
to alter
459 2.5
to modify
229 3.2
tweak
35 3.9

Surface Forms

alter infinitive
altered past
altered past participle
altering present participle
alters third person singular

Etymology

Alter goes back to the Latin word alter, which means 'other'. So to alter something is to make it 'other' or 'different', which is why it means to change something.