ALTERING • E-FREE TRANSLATION.COM • Definition of Altering

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/ˈɔltərɪŋ/ Listen

verb

Alter v. t. (past & past part. altered; pres. part. altering)

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." "My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips."

To agitate; to affect mentally. (Obs.)

To geld. (Colloq.)

Synonyms: 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.

Alter 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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Etymology of 'Altering'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Altering" Quotes from Famous Books

... and here the Duke of York did acquaint us (and the King did the like also afterwards coming in) with his resolution of altering the manner of the war this year: that is, we shall keep what fleet we have abroad in several squadrons: so that now all is come out; but we are to keep it as close as we can, without hindering the work that is to be done in preparation to this. Great ...

— The Diary of Samuel Pepys • Samuel Pepys

... intensity seemed to fall on that part of the forest. The mild and inscrutable expression of Hien's face did not vary, but into Fa Fei's eyes there came an unexpected but not altogether disapproving radiance, while, without actually altering, the appearance of the tree encircling Thang-li's form undoubtedly conveyed the impression that the benevolent smile which might hitherto have been reasonably assumed to exist within ...

— Kai Lung's Golden Hours • Ernest Bramah

... arose a schism which rent the faithful remnant in twain. It was about a great subject, the Communion Service. Collier and Brett were in favour of altering the Book of Common Prayer so as to restore it to the First Book of King Edward VI., which provided for (1) The mixed chalice; (2) prayers for the faithful departed; (3) prayer for the descent of the Holy Ghost on the ...

— In the Name of the Bodleian and Other Essays • Augustine Birrell

... you the copy of a letter from the judges of the Supreme Court of the United States, representing the inconvenience arising from altering the time of holding the circuit court for the State of Delaware from April to June, and desiring that the existing law may be altered by restoring the spring session of the circuit court in Delaware ...

— A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents - Section 2 (of 4) of Volume 1: John Adams • Edited by James D. Richardson

... there is much in orthography which is unsettled now, how much more would be unsettled then. Inasmuch as the pronunciation of words is continually altering, their spelling would of course have continually to alter too. For the fact that pronunciation is undergoing constant changes, although changes for the most part unmarked, or marked only by a few, would be abundantly easy to prove. Take a Pronouncing Dictionary of fifty ...

— English Past and Present • Richard Chenevix Trench

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