Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- intransitive verb To change or make different; modify.
- intransitive verb To adjust (a garment) for a better fit.
- intransitive verb To castrate or spay (an animal, such as a cat or a dog).
- intransitive verb To change or become different.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To make some change in; make different in some particular; cause to vary in some degree, without an entire change.
- To change entirely or materially; convert into another form or state: as, to
alter a cloak into a coat; to alter an opinion. - To castrate, emasculate, or spay, as an animal.
- To exchange.
- To agitate: as, ”altered and moved inwardly,” Milton, Areopagitica, p. 1.
- To become different in some respect; vary; change.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- intransitive verb To become, in some respects, different; to vary; to change
- transitive verb To make otherwise; to change in some respect, either partially or wholly; to vary; to modify.
- transitive verb obsolete To agitate; to affect mentally.
- transitive verb colloq. To geld.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb transitive To
change the form or structure of. - verb intransitive To become different.
- verb transitive To
tailor clothes to make them fit. - verb transitive To
castrate ,neuter orspay (a dog or other animal).
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb cause to change; make different; cause a transformation
- verb remove the ovaries of
- verb become different in some particular way, without permanently losing one's or its former characteristics or essence
- verb insert words into texts, often falsifying it thereby
- verb make an alteration to
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
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Examples
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Over the alter is a painting of Christ and his twelve apostles at ye passover supper very naturally drawn, and over it a Large window full of fine paintings – the history of the testaments.
Through England on a Side Saddle in the Time of William and Mary 1888
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TV lounges and other communal shared space inside a closed building would certain alter what a reasonable person would expect the landlord to have done in selecting tenants.
The Volokh Conspiracy » What Should Landlords Do If a Tenant Is Accused of a Violent Crime? 2010
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John: TV lounges and other communal shared space inside a closed building would certain alter what a reasonable person would expect the landlord to have done in selecting tenants
The Volokh Conspiracy » What Should Landlords Do If a Tenant Is Accused of a Violent Crime? 2010
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They argue that the socialization, rituals and beliefs that make up religion help the brain alter itself, to “brainsoothe.”
A Progressive on the Prairie » Book Review: God’s Brain by Lionel Tiger and Michael McGuire » Print 2010
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They argue that the socialization, rituals and beliefs that make up religion help the brain alter itself, to “brainsoothe.”
Book Review: God’s Brain by Lionel Tiger and Michael McGuire « A Progressive on the Prairie 2010
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Reading the label, and attempting to interpret the mind set of the writer of the label my alter ego is Nino the Mind Boggler, it seems like this should be slapped onto any book published before, say, 1980.
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Their alter is to their gods of money and power where they sacrifice human life for all they can get.
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Und als wenn das nicht schon genug wäre, in alter ProBlogger-Manier legt Shoemoney noch seinen 132.994,97 USD Scheck oben drauf.
Small Companies & Google Adsense is the future « The Paradigm Shift 2006
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He did not move a muscle as he sat regarding her, nor did his expression alter when he saw she was conscious.
The Bloody Crown Of Conan Howard, Robert E. 2003
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He did not move a muscle as he sat regarding her, nor did his expression alter when he saw she was conscious.
The Bloody Crown of Conan Howard, Robert E. 2003
jeen0809 commented on the word alter
Will the storm alter its course and miss the coast?
April 7, 2007