ALTER
alter, neuter, spay, castrate
(verb) remove the ovaries of; “Is your cat spayed?”
change, alter, vary
(verb) become different in some particular way, without permanently losing one’s or its former characteristics or essence; “her mood changes in accordance with the weather”; “The supermarket’s selection of vegetables varies according to the season”
change, alter, modify
(verb) cause to change; make different; cause a transformation; “The advent of the automobile may have altered the growth pattern of the city”; “The discussion has changed my thinking about the issue”
interpolate, alter, falsify
(verb) insert words into texts, often falsifying it thereby
alter
(verb) make an alteration to; “This dress needs to be altered”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology 1
Verb
alter (third-person singular simple present alters, present participle altering, simple past and past participle altered)
(transitive) To change the form or structure of.
(intransitive) To become different.
(transitive) To tailor clothes to make them fit.
(transitive) To castrate, neuter or spay (a dog or other animal).
(transitive) To affect mentally, as by psychotropic drugs or illness.
Etymology 2
Noun
alter (plural alters)
(especially, in the plural) One of the identities or personalities of a person with multiple personality disorder / dissociative identity disorder.
Etymology 3
Noun
alter (plural alters)
(proscribed) Alternative form of altar.
Usage notes
Usually considered a misspelling.
Anagrams
• Alert, alert, altre, artel, later, ratel, taler, telar
Source: Wiktionary
Al"ter, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Altered; p. pr. & vb. n. Altering.] Etym:
[F. altérer, LL. alterare, fr. L. alter other, alius other. Cf. Else,
Other.]
1. To make otherwise; to change in some respect, either partially or
wholly; to vary; to modify. "To alter the king's course." "To alter
the condition of a man." "No power in Venice can alter a decree."
Shak.
It gilds all objects, but it alters none. Pope.
My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of
my lips. Ps. lxxxix. 34.
2. To agitate; to affect mentally. [Obs.] Milton.
3. To geld. [Colloq.]
Syn.
– Change, Alter. Change is generic and the stronger term. It may
express a loss of identity, or the substitution of one thing in place
of another; alter commonly expresses a partial change, or a change in
form or details without destroying identity.
Al"ter, v. i.
Definition: To become, in some respects, different; to vary; to change; as,
the weather alters almost daily; rocks or minerals alter by exposure.
"The law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not." Dan. vi. 8.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition