alter

/ˈɒl.tə/

//ˈɒl.tə// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"alter" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“alter” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #6,540) as a verb. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#6,540
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
4
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To change the form or structure of.

Corpus desk

Index EN-alter · alter · English

alter · rank #6,540 · 4 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #6,540
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-LOW 4 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH adequate

Nearest frequency peer: adequate (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “alter”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “alter” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

alter vs ate
60% similar
alter vs ATR
0% similar
alter vs alto
60% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for alter
PropertyValue
Headwordalter
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈɒl.tə/
Letters5
Frequency rank#6,540
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “alter” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).alterlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “adequate” (#6,539), “apology” (#6,541), “accomplish” (#6,538). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for alter is neighbouring look-alikes ("ate", "ATR", …), not just typos; it is averb pronounced /ˈɒl.tə/. Frequency #6,540 among 3,931 “A” headwords. 5 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for alter, with forms such as "allter", "alterr", and "altre". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "ate", "ATR", "alto", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Old French alterer (French altérer), from Medieval Latin alterāre (“to make other”), from Latin alter (“the other”), from al- (seen in alius (“other”), alienus (“of another”), etc.; see alias, alien, etc.) + compar. suffix -ter. The correct English form is alter, spelled A-L-T-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    To change the form or structure of.
  2. 2
    To become different.
  3. 3
    To tailor clothes to make them fit.
  4. 4
    To castrate, neuter or spay (a dog or other animal).
  5. 5
    To affect mentally, as by psychotropic drugs or illness.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how alter appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Near-synonym: tweak
  2. No power in Venice can alter a decree.

Etymology

From Old French alterer (French altérer), from Medieval Latin alterāre (“to make other”), from Latin alter (“the other”), from al- (seen in alius (“other”), alienus (“of another”), etc.; see alias, alien, etc.) + compar. suffix -ter.

Synonyms

adaptalteramendchangeconvertdifferentiateinnovatemetamorphosemodifyrevampreworktransformtransmogrifytransumevariatevary

Antonyms

preserveleave aloneleave belet alonelet be

This word in other languages

alterar(Español)changer(Français)abändern(Deutsch)alterar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • allter
  • alterr
  • altre
  • atler

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of alter - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

allter1alterr1altre2atler2
Edit distance from "alter"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "alter"?
"alter" is spelled A-L-T-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɒl.tə/.
What does "alter" mean?
As a verb, "alter" means: To change the form or structure of.
What words are commonly confused with "alter"?
"alter" is commonly confused with "ate", "ATR", "alto". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "alter"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "alter" is /ˈɒl.tə/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "alter"?
From Old French alterer (French altérer), from Medieval Latin alterāre (“to make other”), from Latin alter (“the other”), from al- (seen in alius (“other”), alienus (“of another”), etc.; see alias, alien, etc.) + compar. suffix -ter. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "alter", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

brass#6,549crops#6,554shout#6,519rides#6,515

What to do next

You've looked up "alter". Here's where to go from here.

  • "alter" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "ate". View pair
  • 4 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #6,540 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "A" letter cohort. A–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list