ALTER


Meaning of ALTER in English

I. ˈȯltə(r) verb

( altered ; altered ; altering ˈȯltəriŋ, ˈȯl.triŋ ; alters )

Etymology: Middle English alteren, from Middle French alterer, from Medieval Latin alterare, from Latin alter other (of two); akin to Latin alius other — more at else

transitive verb

1. : to cause to become different in some particular characteristic (as measure, dimension, course, arrangement, or inclination) without changing into something else

to the extent of a monosyllable the text has here been altered — J.B.Cabell & A.J.Hanna

preserve it as it is or … alter it out of all recognition — Aldous Huxley

2. archaic : to affect mentally : agitate

the altered mood of terror

3. : to castrate or spay (as a domestic mammal)

intransitive verb

: to become different in some respect : undergo change usually without resulting difference in essential nature

the old witch had not altered by a wrinkle in twenty years — Compton Mackenzie

people themselves alter so much that there is something new to be observed in them for ever — Jane Austen

customs that must alter with every new invention — Herbert Agar

Synonyms: see change

II. ˈȯltə(r) also ˈäl- sometimes ˈal- adjective

or al·te·rum -tərəm, -ˌru̇m

Etymology: Latin

: other — used of something that is distinguished from the ego or especially of other persons as contrasted with the ego

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.