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Another word for alter

a-z
Verb

  1. To make or become different

      1. To cause to be different:
      2. To lay aside, abandon, or leave for another; switch:
      3. To put a fresh covering on:
      1. To limit or reduce slightly; moderate
      2. (Linguis.) To change the form of a morpheme to indicate grammatical relations or derivation
      3. (Linguistics) To change (a vowel) by umlaut.
      1. To change; specif., to undergo or cause to undergo genetic or linguistic mutation
      1. To perform or accomplish by rotating or revolving:
      2. To move in a rotary manner so as to change position
      3. To cause to change intentions, actions, etc. [to turn someone from his purpose]
      1. To make different from one another
      2. To undergo change in any way; become different
      3. To change in form, appearance, nature, substance, etc.; alter; modify
    See also:

    change

  2. To render incapable of reproducing sexually

      1. To deprive of essential virility, vigor, or significance by mutilating, expurgating, subjugating, etc.; emasculate
      2. To remove the ovaries of (a female); spay.
      3. To remove the testicles of; emasculate; geld
      1. To correct or set right; adjust:
      2. (--- Informal) To take revenge upon (someone); get even with.
      3. To influence the outcome or actions of (something) by improper or unlawful means:
      1. To castrate a horse or other similar animal.
      2. To castrate (a horse, for example).
      3. To deprive of anything essential; weaken
      1. To render ineffective or powerless:
      2. To castrate or spay.
      3. To castrate or spay (an animal)
      1. To sterilize (a female animal) by removing the ovaries
      2. To remove surgically the ovaries of an animal.
      1. (Economics) To place (gold) in safekeeping so as not to affect the supply of money or credit.
      2. To make free of living microorganisms, as by subjecting to great heat or chemical action
      3. To eliminate the ability of a person or animal to produce offspring, as by altering or removing the reproductive organs.
      1. To deprive of sexual capacity or sexual attributes.
      2. To deprive of sexual power
      3. To deprive of the qualities considered characteristic of one's sex; esp., to make unwomanly
    See also:

    reproduction

    rich

© Roget’s II: The New Thesaurus Copyright © 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Another word for alter

Verb

  1. To change for a purpose

      1. To make less extreme, severe, or strong:
      2. To limit or reduce slightly; moderate
      3. To change or alter; esp., to change slightly or partially in character, form, etc.
      1. To come into conformity, as with one's surroundings; become suited, as to one's associates, circumstances, etc.
      2. (Mil.) To correct (the gun sight, one's aim, etc.) in firing
      3. To move or change (something) so as to be in a more effective arrangement or desired condition:
      1. To model again
      2. (Physiology) To maintain bone tissue in dynamic equilibrium through the resorption and deposition of bone at a given site.
      3. To change the appearance, layout, or furnishings of.
      1. (Linguistics) To deduce the form and properties of (a protolanguage or an unattested word) based on evidence from attested languages, such as cognate words.
      2. To construct again; rebuild.
      3. To build up, from remaining parts or other evidence, a concept or reproduction of (something in its original or complete form)
    See also:

    change

  2. To castrate or spay

      1. To deprive of essential virility, vigor, or significance by mutilating, expurgating, subjugating, etc.; emasculate
      2. To remove the ovaries of (a female); spay.
      3. To remove the testicles of; emasculate; geld
      1. To sterilize (a female animal) by removing the ovaries
      2. To remove surgically the ovaries of an animal.
      1. To render ineffective or powerless:
      2. To castrate or spay.
      3. To castrate or spay (an animal)
      1. To remove part or all of the reproductive organs of; neuter.
      2. To suppress or lessen the sexual characteristics of
      3. To remove the sex organs of
      1. To castrate a horse or other similar animal.
      2. To castrate (a horse, for example).
      3. To deprive of anything essential; weaken
      1. (Economics) To place (gold) in safekeeping so as not to affect the supply of money or credit.
      2. To make free of living microorganisms, as by subjecting to great heat or chemical action
      3. To eliminate the ability of a person or animal to produce offspring, as by altering or removing the reproductive organs.
      1. To deprive of strength or vigor; weaken.
      2. To deprive (a male) of the power to reproduce, as by removing the testicles; castrate; geld
      3. To destroy the strength or force of; weaken
      1. To castrate a cockerel in order to fatten it for table use
      1. To damage or mar (an object):
      2. To injure severely or disfigure, especially by cutting off tissue or body parts.
      3. To cut off or damage a limb or other important part of (a person or animal)
      1. To correct or set right; adjust:
      2. (--- Informal) To take revenge upon (someone); get even with.
      3. To influence the outcome or actions of (something) by improper or unlawful means:

  3. To become different

      1. To cause to be different:
      2. To lay aside, abandon, or leave for another; switch:
      3. To put a fresh covering on:
      1. To aid in the growth of; strengthen:
      2. To cause (one's personality, a bud, etc.) to unfold or evolve gradually
      3. To come to have gradually; acquire:
      1. (Physics) To disintegrate in a process of radioactive decay or particle decay.
      2. (Electronics) To decrease gradually in magnitude. Used of voltage or current.
      3. To cause to decay
    See also:

    change

    See syn. study at

    change

© WEBSTER’S NEW WORLD® ROGET’S A-Z THESAURUS by Charlton Laird and the editors of Webster’s New World dictionaries. Copyright © 1999 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Sentence Examples

  • It's a tiny secret, one that may not alter much of anything.

  • During all this time little was done to alter the condition of the natives.

  • He pronounced the words that would forever alter her life.

  • They had slaves, but so few as not to alter the social conditions.

  • Man himself cannot increase the sum of motion; he can only alter its direction.

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Words that mention alter in the Dictionary

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