alteration

/ɒl.tə(ɹ)ˈeɪ.ʃən/

//ɒl.tə(ɹ)ˈeɪ.ʃən// noun

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

"alteration" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“alteration” has 15 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #18,754. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#18,754
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
15
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The act of altering or making different.

Corpus desk

Index EN-alteration · alteration · English

alteration · rank #18,754 · 15 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #18,754
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 15 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH alba

Nearest frequency peer: alba (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “alteration”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “alteration” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

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).

alteration vs altercation
91% similar
alteration vs allegation
80% similar
alteration vs alienation
80% similar

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

Key facts for alteration
PropertyValue
Headwordalteration
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɒl.tə(ɹ)ˈeɪ.ʃən/
Letters10
Frequency rank#18,754
Misspellings tracked15
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “alteration”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).alterationlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “alba” (#18,753), “annoyance” (#18,755), “airbus” (#18,752). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “alteration” is #18,754. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 15 spelling variants around alteration (IPA /ɒl.tə(ɹ)ˈeɪ.ʃən/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #18,754 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for alteration, with forms such as "aletration", "allteration", and "alteartion". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "altercation", "allegation", "alienation", 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 alteracion (French altération), from Medieval Latin alterātiō. Morphologically alter + -ation. The correct English form is alteration, spelled A-L-T-E-R-A-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    The act of altering or making different.
  2. 2
    The act of altering or making different.
  3. 3
    The state of being altered; a change made in the form or nature of a thing; a changed condition.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. …alteration, though it be from worse to better, hath in it inconveniences…
  2. …and I saw by the alteration in your face that a train of thought had been started.

Etymology

From Old French alteracion (French altération), from Medieval Latin alterātiō. Morphologically alter + -ation.

This word in other languages

alteración(Español)altération(Français)Änderung(Deutsch)alteração(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • aletration
  • allteration
  • alteartion
  • alteraiton
  • alterasion
  • alteratino
  • alterationn
  • alteratoin
  • alterattion
  • alterration
  • altertaion
  • altreation
  • altteration
  • atleration
  • lateration

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of alteration - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

aletration2allteration1alteartion2alteraiton2alterasion1alteratino2alterationn1alteratoin2
Edit distance from "alteration"

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 "alteration"?
"alteration" is spelled A-L-T-E-R-A-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ɒl.tə(ɹ)ˈeɪ.ʃən/.
What does "alteration" mean?
As a noun, "alteration" means: The act of altering or making different.
What words are commonly confused with "alteration"?
"alteration" is commonly confused with "altercation", "allegation", "alienation". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "alteration"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "alteration" is /ɒl.tə(ɹ)ˈeɪ.ʃən/. 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 "alteration"?
From Old French alteracion (French altération), from Medieval Latin alterātiō. Morphologically alter + -ation. 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 "alteration", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

assembling#18,760visitation#18,731undeniable#18,726unaffected#18,724

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (15 here; floor ≥5).

Stratford15 variantsrelativity15 variantspancreatic15 variantsornamental15 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list