# alteration vs altercation

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### alteration
*noun · IPA /ɒl.tə(ɹ)ˈeɪ.ʃən/ · frequency rank #18,754*
The act of altering or making different.

### altercation
*noun · IPA /ˌɔːltəˈkeɪʃn̩/ · frequency rank #24,650*
An angry or heated dispute.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/alteration-vs-altercation