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Definitions

alter

[awl-ter] / ˈɔl tər /




Usage

What is another way to say alter? To alter is to make some partial change, as in appearance, while still preserving the identity: to alter a dress, as by raising the hem (to change a dress would mean to put on a different one). To change is to make a material difference so that something is distinctly different from what it was: to change one's opinion. 

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“It keeps markets in a constant state of anticipation, as any unexpected deviation, whether toward a deeper slowdown or higher inflation, could significantly alter monetary policy expectations,” he says.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 1, 2026

In some regards this narrator, a husband and father, is Mr. Lerner’s most mature alter ego, but he often seems like the same schlemiel as the feckless grad student in “Leaving the Atocha Station.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026

A nonprofit exists to preserve them, but tour guide Teri Rommelmann said preservation efforts aren’t meant to alter the course of nature and time, but rather to save the work from sinking into the sand.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 31, 2026

One of the proposals is to alter the ratio, and increase the performance of the internal combustion engine by increasing the fuel-flow rate, and make the power ratio more like 65-35 or 70-30.

From BBC • Mar. 29, 2026

Harold Puthoff, the director of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Austin, Texas, believes that a quantum sail would simply alter the properties of the vacuum.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife