alterar

[al̪t̪eˈɾaɾ]

/[al̪t̪eˈɾaɾ]/ verb

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

The verdict

“alterar” has 10 generated spelling variants in the Spanish index at frequency #10,258. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#10,258
frequency rank, Spanish
7,704
“A” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Cambiar la forma, esencia, estructura o composición de algo.

Corpus desk

Index ES-alterar · alterar · Spanish

alterar · rank #10,258 · 10 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #10,258
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 7,704
  • PHOTO-FINISH ajustar

Nearest frequency peer: ajustar (-1 rank slots)

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.

Pares de rango junto al imán ortográfico “alterar”

Misma franja de rareza: útil si un typo cae en un lema vecino

corpus weight

What this shows “alterar” está entre estos pares FrequencyWords; la profundidad de typo se mide aparte en el gráfico de distancia de edición.

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).

alterar vs altura
71% similar
alterar vs alteza
71% similar
alterar vs Alvear
57% similar

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

Key facts for alterar
PropertyValue
Headwordalterar
LanguageSpanish
Part of speechVerb
IPA[al̪t̪eˈɾaɾ]
Letters7
Frequency rank#10,258
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frecuencia del imán ortográfico “alterar”

De izquierda a derecha: las pocas palabras que cargan el habla diaria, luego la cola larga casi invisible.alterarcae aquí:

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

La escala es logarítmica (cada marca ≈ 10× más rara). En la misma franja de rareza aparecen “ajustar” (#10,257), “amorosa” (#10,259), “amén” (#10,260). Entre 7,704 lemas con “A”, “alterar” va en #10,258. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around alterar (IPA [al̪t̪eˈɾaɾ]), averb. Corpus frequency is #10,258 among 7,704 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for alterar, with forms such as "aletrar", "allterar", and "altearr". 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, "altura", "alteza", "Alvear", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct Spanish form is alterar, spelled A-L-T-E-R-A-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Cambiar la forma, esencia, estructura o composición de algo.
  2. 2
    Causar un cambio que perturba, estropea, daña o descompone.
  3. 3
    Causar una emoción o preocupación fuerte, generalmente negativa, que afecta, perturba, agita, trastorna o inquieta el ánimo.
  4. 4
    Producir enojo, impaciencia, agitación o irritación.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. «Con la llegada de los exploradores españoles entró en la región un nuevo factor poblacional que alteró completamente el anterior panorama que se había venido desarrollando entre los pueblos indígenas».
  2. «Los japoneses aconsejan comerlo con palillos o cubiertos de madera, o directamente con la mano; pero se debe evitar el uso de utensilios metálicos, ya que los mismos alterarían el sabor de la comida».

Synonyms

inmutarmodificartransformar

This word in other languages

alter(English)abändern(Deutsch)alterar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • aletrar
  • allterar
  • altearr
  • alterarr
  • alterra
  • alterrar
  • altrear
  • altterar
  • atlerar
  • laterar

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of alterar - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

aletrar2allterar1altearr2alterarr1alterra2alterrar1altrear2altterar1
Edit distance from "alterar"

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 Spanish corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "alterar"?
"alterar" is spelled A-L-T-E-R-A-R. The IPA pronunciation is [al̪t̪eˈɾaɾ].
What does "alterar" mean?
As a verb, "alterar" means: Cambiar la forma, esencia, estructura o composición de algo.
What words are commonly confused with "alterar"?
"alterar" is commonly confused with "altura", "alteza", "Alvear". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "alterar"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "alterar" is [al̪t̪eˈɾaɾ]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "alterar" come from?
"alterar" is a Spanish word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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 Spanish words by spelling shape

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

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked Spanish headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

ajustar#10,257amorosa#10,259aplauso#10,263actuado#10,251

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

apuntan10 variantstumbas10 variantstortuga10 variantscerraron10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list