Which to use
“altar” is a noun and “alter” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,562
- “altar” frequency rank
- #6,540
- “alter” frequency rank
- 16102
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | altar | alter |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A table or similar flat-topped structure used for religious rites. | To change the form or structure of. |
Same sound, different letters: altar vs alter
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 4 letters.
Same sound, different spelling - altar / alter
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: altar and alter carry the same recorded pronunciation, /ˈɒl.tə/. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anoun, the other averb, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by a single letter - a in “altar” becomes e in “alter”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16102, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
altar is recorded at frequency rank #9,562, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈɒl.tə/. alter is at rank #6,540, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈɒl.tə/.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 16102, this pair ranks #459,904 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of altar vs alter
Shared letters: alrt. Private to "altar": -. Private to "alter": e.
"altar" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC · "alter" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "altar" for "alter" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "altar" or "alter" show up more?
After this comparison
Sound matches; spelling doesn't. Use the exits below to lock the right form or check a cousin pair.
- Full dictionary entry for "altar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "alter" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #459,904 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "altar" and "alter" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "altar vs Asta". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #459,904 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.