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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.

See Examples For:

He rejected a proposed constitutional amendment that would make it harder for lawmakers to alter measures approved by voters, saying it was unconstitutional.

From Salon Aug. 25, 2026

Director and founder Edward Surman said: "Social media is a place where brands can alter their own story - where it's not moved around by the press."

From BBC Aug. 25, 2026

More than once, she said, she has had to order planes to slow down or alter their trajectories to avoid accidents.

From Barron's Aug. 23, 2026

These states give researchers another way to alter material behavior beyond conventional approaches such as heating or cooling.

From Science Daily Aug. 21, 2026

Mom says, “Money doesn’t alter human rights, common equality.”

From "Black Brother, Black Brother" by Jewell Parker Rhodes

Prolonged heat exposure alters development and threatens long-term population stability.

From Science Daily Jul. 29, 2026

I interviewed Christo in 2011, and he was eloquent about how his and his wife’s work alters perceptions of nature, and about the deliberately transient character of the art itself.

From Los Angeles Times Jun. 20, 2026

Moreover, the repeal of this rule substantially alters settlement dynamics.

From MarketWatch Jun. 17, 2026

Much will come out in the exchanges between the accidental roommates that alters our perceptions of both, as well as our view of those offstage personages, living and dead.

From The Wall Street Journal May 28, 2026

Much as a real mirror introduces changes of its own and does not reflect the simple truth, so this one alters the way the girl looks, revealing a deeper reality.

From "History of Art, Volume 1" by H.W. Janson

"Once it is cut up by deep ruts, the water balance can be altered for years degrading habitat and reducing carbon storage," she said.

From BBC Aug. 26, 2026

The darker streaks contain surface dust and rocks that have been altered over long periods by solar wind, galactic cosmic rays, and impacts from micrometeorites.

From Science Daily Aug. 20, 2026

“The fact that exercises already in progress can be altered by a single order from the U.S. President is something we must not take lightly,” a party spokesman said on Wednesday.

From The Wall Street Journal Aug. 19, 2026

After moving to Los Angeles, Lynch started visiting the Spiritual Regeneration Movement Center in Santa Monica and it altered his life.

From Los Angeles Times Aug. 18, 2026

In that moment, Henry altered something in my understanding of human potential, redemption, and hopefulness.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson

Epigenetic mechanisms can adjust how strongly genes are turned on or off without altering the underlying DNA sequence.

From Science Daily Aug. 25, 2026

He said what happened with Afropunk is “a tale as old as time” and Morgan being outside of the movement led to “moneyed interests” altering what Spooner had created.

From Los Angeles Times Aug. 20, 2026

Achieving that, Tiwari says, requires redesigning streets by narrowing traffic lanes, altering road surfaces and introducing other traffic-calming measures.

From BBC Aug. 6, 2026

That raw information allows anyone to run a model on specialized hardware and to build on top of the model, altering its weights with additional data in a process called fine-tuning.

From The Wall Street Journal Aug. 2, 2026

Having trained us and our dogs—it took about two weeks to complete—the ravens set about altering, or trying to alter, the rest of our regimen to fit their needs.

From This Side of Wild by Gary Paulsen




Vocabulary lists containing alter


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