Al"ter (#), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Altered (#); p. pr. & vb. n. Altering.] [F. alt'erer, LL. alterare, fr. L. alter other, alius other. Cf. Else, Other.]
1.
To make otherwise; to change in some respect, either partially or wholly; to vary; to modify.
"To
alter the king's course." "To
alter the condition of a man." "No power in Venice can
alter a decree."
Shak.
It gilds all objects, but it alters none.
Pope.
My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.
Ps. lxxxix. 34.
2.
To agitate; to affect mentally.
[Obs.]
Milton.
3.
To geld.
[Colloq.]
Syn. -- Change, Alter. Change is generic and the stronger term. It may express a loss of identity, or the substitution of one thing in place of another; alter commonly expresses a partial change, or a change in form or details without destroying identity.
© Webster 1913.
Al"ter, v. i.
To become, in some respects, different; to vary; to change; as, the weather alters almost daily; rocks or minerals alter by exposure.
"The law of the Medes and Persians, which
altereth not."
Dan. vi. 8.
© Webster 1913.