al·ter /ˈɔltɚ/
 (vt.)改變,更改,修改


 al·ter /ˈɔltɚ/ 及物動詞
 變更,改變,閹,閹割


 alter
 變更


 Al·ter v. t. [imp. & p. p. Altered p. pr. & vb. n. Altering.]
 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.”
    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.]
 3. To geld. [Colloq.]
 Syn: -- Change, Alter.
 Usage: 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.


 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.”

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 alter
      v 1: cause to change; make different; cause a transformation;
           "The advent of the automobile may have altered the
           growth pattern of the city"; "The discussion has changed
           my thinking about the issue" [syn: change, modify]
      2: make or become different in some particular way, without
         permanently losing one's or its former characteristics or
         essence; "her mood changes in accordance with the
         weather"; "The supermarket's selection of vegetables
         varies according to the season" [syn: change, vary]
      3: make an alteration to; "This dress needs to be altered"
      4: insert words into texts, often falsifying it thereby [syn: interpolate,
          falsify]
      5: remove the ovaries of; "Is your cat spayed?" [syn: neuter,
          spay, castrate]