alter
al·ter/ˈɔl.təɹ/verb, noun
alter is spelled A-L-T-E-R: 5 letters and 2 syllables (al·ter). It appears 11 times per million words in written English, the 6,565th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “altar vs alter” about 1,000 times a month (Google, United States). As a verb, alter means “To change the form or structure of” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in alter?
| Letters | 5: A-L-T-E-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: al·ter |
| In writing | 11 times per million words; the 6,565th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Sounds like | |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is alter?
Alter appears 11 times per million words in written English, the 6,565th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce alter?
- UK /ˈɒl.tə/
- UK /ˈɔːl.tə/
- US /ˈɔl.təɹ/
Alter has 2 syllables, split al·ter in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_(NaomiAmethyst)-alter.wav, En-us-altar.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with alter
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sounds like: altar (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with alter?
5 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as alter from its last stressed vowel (/ɔltəɹ/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: later, alert, taler, artel, ratel.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of alter
- alters present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- altering participle, present
- altered participle, past
- altre
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does alter mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To change the form or structure of.
Near-synonym: tweak
- 2
To become different.
- 3
To tailor clothes to make them fit.
- 4
To castrate, neuter or spay (a dog or other animal).
- 5
To affect mentally, as by psychotropic drugs or illness.
We don't know if he was altered on alcohol or drugs or anything […]
noun
- 1
One of the personalities, identities, or selves in a person with dissociative identity disorder or another form of multiplicity.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Alter in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to change the form or structure of:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | changer, altérer, modifier |
| German | abändern, ändern |
| Portuguese | alterar, mudar, modificar |
| Spanish | alterar, cambiar, modificar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does alter come from?
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.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).