Al"ter , v. i. 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.
Al"ter (&?;), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Altered (&?;);
p. pr. & vb. n.
Altering.]
[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.
Hear it pronounced