Definition of 'alter'
Word forms: alters, altering, altered
transitive verb/intransitive verb
If something alters or if you alter it, it changes.
COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Video: pronunciation of
alter
Word Frequency
alter in American English
verb transitive
verb intransitive
4.
to become different; change;
vary
SIMILAR WORDS: change
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Derived forms
alterable (ˈalterable)
adjective
Word Frequency
alter in American English
(ˈɔltər)
transitive verb
1.
to alter a coat
to alter a will
to alter course
2.
to castrate or spay
intransitive verb
3.
to change; become different or modified
Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019
by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Derived forms
alterer noun
Word origin
[1350–1400; ME ‹ OF alterer ‹ LL alterāre to change, worsen, deriv. of L alter other]Word Frequency
alter. in American English
abbreviation
Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019
by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Word Frequency
alter in British English
verb
1.
to make or become different in some
respect; change
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Derived forms
alterable (ˈalterable) adjective
alterably (ˈalterably)
adverb
alterability (ˌalteraˈbility)
noun
Word origin
C14: from Old French alterer, from Medieval Latin alterāre to change, from Latin alter other
Examples of 'alter' in a sentence
alter
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Trends of
alter
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In other languages
alter
British English: alter
/ˈɔːltə/ VERB
If something alters, or if you alter it, it changes.
Not much had altered in the village.
- American English: alter
- Arabic: يُبَدِّلُ
- Brazilian Portuguese: alterar
- Chinese: 改变
- Croatian: promijeniti
- Czech: změnit (se)
- Danish: ændre
- Dutch: veranderen
- European Spanish: alterar
- Finnish: muuttaa toisenlaiseksi
- French: altérer
- German: ändern
- Greek: αλλάζω
- Italian: modificare
- Japanese: 変更する
- Korean: ...을 바꾸다
- Norwegian: endre
- Polish: zmienić
- European Portuguese: alterar
- Romanian: a schimba"a altera,
- Russian: изменять
- Spanish: alterar
- Swedish: ändra
- Thai: ปรับเปลี่ยน
- Turkish: değiştirmek
- Ukrainian: змінювати
- Vietnamese: thay đổi
Nearby words of
alter
Related terms of
alter
Source
Definition of alter from the
Collins English Dictionary
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