English > alter: 5 senses > verb 1, change| Meaning | Cause to change; make different; cause a transformation. |
|---|
| Pattern | Somebody ----s something; Somebody ----s somebody; Something ----s somebody; Something ----s something |
|---|
| Example | "The advent of the automobile may have altered the growth pattern of the city" |
|---|
| Synonyms | change, modify |
|---|
| Cause to | change | Undergo a change |
|---|
| Narrower | Americanize, Americanise | make American in character |
|---|
| Europeanize, Europeanise | denationalize and subject (a territory) to the supervision of an agency of a European community of nations |
| Europeanize, Europeanise | make (continental) European in customs, character, or ideas |
| Frenchify | make French in appearance or character |
| Islamize, Islamise | Cause to conform to Islamic law |
| accelerate, speed, speed up | Cause to move faster |
| acerbate | make sour or bitter |
| acetylate, acetylize, acetylise | introduce an acetyl group into (a chemical compound) |
| achromatize, achromatise | Remove color from |
| activate | make active or more active |
| activate | make (substances) radioactive |
| activate, aerate | aerate (sewage) so as to favor the growth of organisms that decompose organic matter |
| activate | make more adsorptive |
| adjust, set, correct | alter or regulate so as to achieve accuracy or conform to a standard |
| affect | act physically on |
| affect, impact, bear upon, bear on, touch on, touch | Have an effect upon |
| age | make older |
| alchemize, alchemise | Alter (elements) by alchemy |
| alcoholize, alcoholise | make alcoholic, as by fermenting |
| alkalinize, alkalinise | make (a substance) alkaline |
| allegorize, allegorise | make into an allegory |
| alter | make an alteration to |
| angulate | make or become angular |
| animize, animise, animate | Give lifelike qualities to |
| antiquate | make obsolete or old-fashioned |
| antique, antiquate | Give an antique appearance to |
| archaize, archaise | Give an archaic appearance of character to |
| arterialize, arterialise | change venous blood into arterial blood |
| ash | convert into ashes |
| assimilate | make similar |
| automatize, automatise, automate | make automatic or control or operate automatically |
| automatize, automatise | Turn into an automaton |
| awaken, wake, waken, rouse, wake up, arouse | Cause to become awake or conscious |
| barb | Provide with barbs |
| barbarize, barbarise | make crude or savage in behavior or speech |
| bestialize, bestialise | make brutal and depraved |
| better, improve, amend, ameliorate, meliorate | To make better |
| blind | make blind by putting the eyes out |
| blister | Cause blisters to form on |
| blunt | make less sharp / sharp / sharp |
| blur, blear | make dim or indistinct |
| blur | To make less distinct / distinct or clear |
| boil | Bring to, or maintain at, the boiling point |
| break, break up | Destroy the completeness of a set of related items |
| break down, crush | make ineffective |
| brighten, lighten up, lighten | make lighter or brighter / brighter |
| bring, land | Bring into a different state |
| bring | Cause to come into a particular state or condition |
| brutalize, brutalise, animalize, animalise | make brutal, unfeeling, or inhuman |
| bubble | Cause to form bubbles |
| calcify | convert into lime |
| camp | Give an artificially banal or sexual quality to |
| capture | bring about the capture / capture of an elementary particle or celestial body and causing it enter a new orbit |
| cause to sleep | make fall asleep |
| centralize, centralise, concentrate | make central |
| change intensity | increase / increase or decrease in intensity |
| change taste | Alter the flavor of |
| charge | Cause formation of a net electrical charge in or on |
| charge | Fill or load to capacity |
| chasten, temper | restrain |
| check, retard, delay | Slow the growth or development of |
| circularize | make circular |
| civilize, civilise | Raise from a barbaric to a civilized state |
| clarify | make clear by removing impurities or solids, as by heating |
| classicize, classicise | make classic or classical |
| clean, make clean | make clean by removing dirt, filth, or unwanted substances from |
| clear | make clear, bright / bright, light, or translucent |
| clot, coagulate | Cause to change from a liquid / liquid to a solid or thickened state |
| cloud | Make less clear |
| coarsen | make less subtle or refined |
| coarsen | make or become coarse or coarser |
| cohere | Cause to form a united, orderly, and aesthetically consistent whole |
| color, colorize, colorise, colourise, colourize, colour, color in, colour in | add color to |
| commercialize, commercialise, market | make commercial |
| communize, communise, bolshevize, bolshevise | make Communist or bring in accord / accord with Communist principles |
| commute, convert, exchange | Exchange a penalty for a less severe one |
| complicate, perplex | make more complicated |
| complicate, refine, rarify, elaborate | make more complex, intricate, or richer |
| condense, concentrate, contract | compress or concentrate |
| confuse, blur, obscure, obnubilate | make unclear, indistinct, or blurred |
| constitutionalize, constitutionalise | incorporate into a constitution, make constitutional |
| contaminate | make radioactive by adding radioactive material |
| conventionalize, conventionalise | make conventional or adapt to conventions |
| convert, change over | change from one system to another or to a new plan or policy |
| convert | change the nature, purpose, or function of something |
| convert | Cause to adopt a new or different faith |
| cook | Transform by heating |
| cool, chill, cool down | make cool or cooler |
| corrupt, pervert, subvert, demoralize, demoralise, debauch, debase, profane, vitiate, deprave, misdirect | corrupt morally or by intemperance or sensuality |
| counterchange, transpose, interchange | Cause to change places |
| crack | Cause to become cracked |
| cry | Bring into a particular state by crying |
| customize, customise | make according to requirements |
| damage | inflict damage / damage upon |
| darken | make dark or darker |
| de-emphasize, de-emphasise, destress | Reduce the emphasis |
| deaden, blunt | make less lively, intense, or vigorous |
| deaden | make vapid or deprive of spirit |
| deaminate, deaminize | Remove the amino radical (usually by hydrolysis) from an amino compound |
| decarboxylate | Remove a carboxyl group from (a chemical compound) |
| decelerate, slow down | Reduce the speed of |
| decentralize, deconcentrate, decentralise | make less central |
| decimalize, decimalise | change from fractions to decimals |
| decorate, adorn, grace, ornament, embellish, beautify | make more attractive by adding ornament, colour / colour, etc. |
| decrease, lessen, minify | make smaller |
| decrepitate | To roast or calcine so as to cause to crackle or until crackling stops |
| deflate | produce deflation in |
| deform | make formless |
| dehydrogenate | Remove hydrogen from |
| demagnetize, demagnetise, degauss | make nonmagnetic |
| demist, defog | Free from mist |
| democratize, democratise | introduce democratic reforms |
| demonize, demonise | make into a demon |
| demulsify | Cause to demulsify |
| demythologize, demythologise | Remove the mythical element from (writings) |
| denationalize, denationalise | put under private control or ownership |
| denaturalize, denaturalise | strip of the rights and duties of citizenship |
| denaturalize, denaturalise | make less natural or unnatural |
| denature | make (alcohol) unfit for drinking without impairing usefulness for other purposes |
| denature | modify (as a native protein) especially by heat, acid, alkali, or ultraviolet radiation so that all of the original properties are removed or diminished |
| denature | add nonfissionable material to (fissionable material) so as to make unsuitable for use in an atomic bomb |
| deodorize, deodorise, deodourise | Eliminate the odor from |
| depersonalize, depersonalise, objectify | make impersonal or present as an object |
| depolarize, depolarise | Eliminate the polarization of |
| desensitize, desensitise | make insensitive |
| desensitize, desensitise | Cause not to be sensitive |
| destabilize, destabilise | make unstable / unstable |
| detransitivize, detransitivise, intransitivize, intransitivise | Intransitivize |
| devalue | lower the value or quality of |
| develop, make grow | Cause to grow and differentiate in ways conforming to its natural development |
| develop | make visible by means of chemical solutions |
| devilize, devilise, diabolize, diabolise | Turn into a devil or make devilish |
| digitize, digitise, digitalize, digitalise | put into digital form, as for use in a computer |
| dinge | make dingy / dingy |
| dirty, soil, begrime, grime, colly, bemire | make soiled, filthy, or dirty |
| disable, disenable, incapacitate | make unable to perform a certain action |
| discolor | Cause to lose or change color |
| disharmonize, dissonate | Cause to sound harsh and unpleasant |
| disintegrate | Cause to undergo fission or lose particles |
| disorder, disarray | Bring disorder to |
| disqualify, unfit, indispose | make unfit or unsuitable |
| dissimilate | make dissimilar / dissimilar |
| dissolve, dismiss | declare void |
| dissolve | Cause to fade away |
| diversify | make (more) diverse |
| dizzy | make dizzy or giddy |
| domesticate, domesticize, domesticise, reclaim, tame | Overcome the wildness of |
| dope | add impurities to (a semiconductor) in order to produce or modify its properties |
| draw | Bring or lead someone to a certain action / action or condition |
| dry, dry out | Remove the moisture from and make dry |
| dull | make dull in appearance |
| dull, blunt | make dull or blunt |
| dynamize, dynamise | make (a drug) effective |
| dynamize, dynamise | make more dynamic |
| ease up, ease off, let up | Reduce pressure or intensity |
| edit, redact | Prepare for publication or presentation by correcting, revising, or adapting |
| edit, cut, edit out | cut and assemble the components of |
| embrittle | make brittle / brittle |
| empty | make void or empty of contents |
| emulsify | Cause to become an emulsion |
| enable | Render capable or able for some task |
| end, terminate | Bring to an end or halt |
| equal, match, equalize, equalise, equate | make equal, uniform, corresponding, or matching |
| eroticize, sex up | Give erotic character to or make more interesting |
| estrange, alienate, disaffect | Arouse hostility or indifference / indifference in where there had formerly been love, affection, or friendliness |
| etherealize, etherialise | make ethereal |
| etiolate | make pale or sickly |
| etiolate | bleach and alter the natural development of (a green plant) by excluding sunlight |
| evaporate, vaporise | Cause to change into a vapor |
| even, even out | Become even / even / even / even / even or more even / even / even / even / even |
| excite | produce a magnetic field in |
| excite, energize, energise | Raise to a higher energy level |
| extend, expand | Expand the influence of |
| exteriorize, exteriorise, externalize, externalise, objectify | make external or objective, or give reality to |
| fatten, fat, flesh out, fill out, plump, plump out, fatten out, fatten up | make fat or plump |
| feminize, feminise, effeminize, effeminise, womanize | To give a (more) feminine, effeminate, or womanly quality or appearance to |
| fertilize, fecundate, fertilise | make fertile or productive |
| fill, fill up, make full | make full, also in a metaphorical sense |
| fix, prepare, set up, ready, gear up, set | make ready or suitable or equip in advance for a particular purpose or for some use, event, etc |
| flatten, drop | lower the pitch of (musical notes) |
| flocculate | Cause to become a fluffy or lumpy aggregate |
| freeze | Cause to freeze / freeze |
| full | make (a garment) fuller by pleating or gathering |
| gelatinize, gelatinise | convert into gelatinous form or jelly |
| glamorize, glamourise, glamourize, glamorise | make glamorous and attractive |
| glorify | bestow glory upon |
| habituate, accustom | make psychologically or physically used (to something) |
| harmonize, harmonise, chord | Bring into consonance, harmony, or accord while making music or singing |
| harshen | make harsh / harsh / harsh / harsh / harsh / harsh or harsher / harsher / harsher / harsher / harsher / harsher |
| heat, heat up | make hot or hotter |
| hue | take on color or become colored |
| humanize, humanise | make more humane |
| humble | Cause to be unpretentious |
| hydrogenate | combine or treat with or expose to hydrogen |
| immaterialize, immaterialise, unsubstantialize, unsubstantialise | Render immaterial or incorporeal |
| immortalize, immortalise, eternize, eternise, eternalize, eternalise | make famous forever |
| inactivate, deactivate | make inactive |
| incandesce | Cause to become incandescent or glow |
| increase | make bigger or more |
| indispose | Cause to feel unwell |
| industrialize, industrialise | organize (the production of something) into an industry |
| inflate | Cause prices to rise by increasing the available currency or credit |
| inform | Give character or essence to |
| inseminate, fecundate, fertilize, fertilise | introduce semen into (a female) |
| insulate | protect from heat, cold, or noise by surrounding with insulating material |
| intensify | make the chemically affected part of (a negative) denser or more opaque in order produce a stronger contrast between light and dark |
| internationalize, internationalise | make international in character |
| introvert | Turn inside |
| invalidate, void, vitiate | take away the legal force of or render ineffective |
| invert | make an inversion (in a musical composition) |
| iodinate | Cause to combine with iodine |
| ionate | add ions to |
| isomerize, isomerise | Cause to change into an isomer |
| laicize, laicise | Reduce to lay status |
| legitimate | make (an illegitimate child) legitimate |
| lend, impart, bestow, contribute, add, bring | bestow a quality on |
| liberalize, liberalise | make liberal or more liberal, of laws and rules |
| lifehack | Make one's day-to-day activities more efficient |
| lift, raise, elevate | Raise in rank or condition |
| liquefy, liquify, liquidize, liquidise | make (a solid substance) liquid, as by heating |
| loosen, loose | make loose or looser |
| loosen | make less dense |
| louden | Cause to become loud |
| lower, depress | Cause to drop or sink |
| lubricate | make slippery or smooth through the application of a lubricant |
| magnetize, magnetise | make magnetic |
| make, get | Give certain properties to something |
| make | Cause to be enjoyable or pleasurable |
| make | change from one form into another |
| mark | make or leave a mark on |
| masculinize, masculinise, virilize, virilise | produce virilism in or cause to assume / assume masculine characteristics / characteristics, as through a hormonal imbalance or hormone therapy |
| masculinize | Give a masculine appearance or character to |
| mechanize, mechanise | make mechanical |
| mechanize, mechanise | make monotonous |
| militarize, militarise | Adopt for military use |
| militarize, militarise | lend a military character to (a country) , as by building up a military force |
| mince, soften, moderate | make less severe or harsh / harsh / harsh / harsh / harsh / harsh |
| mix, mingle, commix, unify, amalgamate | To bring or combine together or with something else |
| morph | Cause to change shape in a computer animation |
| muddy | make turbid |
| mythologize, mythologise, mythicize, mythicise | make into a myth |
| nationalize, nationalise | put under state control or ownership |
| nationalize, nationalise | make national in character or scope |
| naturalize, naturalise | make into a citizen |
| naturalize, naturalise | make more natural or lifelike |
| nazify | Cause or force to adopt Nazism or a Nazi character |
| neutralize, neutralise | make chemically neutral |
| neutralize | make politically neutral and thus inoffensive |
| nick | divide or reset the tail muscles of |
| normalize, normalise, renormalize, renormalise | make normal or cause to conform to a norm or standard |
| obfuscate | make obscure or unclear |
| obscure, bedim, overcloud | make obscure or unclear |
| obscure, blot out, obliterate, veil, hide | make undecipherable or imperceptible by obscuring or concealing |
| occidentalize, occidentalise, westernize, westernise | make western in character |
| officialize, officialise | make official |
| opacify | make opaque |
| opalize, opalise | make opalescent |
| opsonize | make (cells) more susceptible to the action of phagocytes |
| orientalize, orientalise | make oriental in character |
| ossify | Cause to become hard and bony |
| outmode | make unfashionable, outdated, or obsolete |
| oxidize, oxidise, oxidate | add oxygen to or combine with oxygen |
| oxygenize, oxygenise | change (a compound) by increasing the proportion of the electronegative part |
| paganize, paganise | make pagan in character |
| pall | Cause to become flat |
| parallel, collimate | make or place parallel to something |
| patent | make open to sight or notice |
| personalize, personalise, individualize, individualise | make personal or more personal |
| piggyback | Bring into alignment with |
| plasticize, plasticise | make plastic, as by the addition of a plasticizer |
| poison, envenom | add poison to |
| polarize, polarise | Cause to vibrate in a definite pattern |
| politicize, politicise | Give a political character to |
| port | Modify (software) for use on a different machine or platform |
| professionalize, professionalise | make professional or give a professional character to |
| proof | activate by mixing / mixing with water and sometimes sugar or milk |
| prostrate | Render helpless or defenseless |
| purify, purge, sanctify | make pure or free from sin or guilt |
| put | Cause to be in a certain state |
| radicalize | make more radical in social or political outlook |
| rarefy, sublimate, subtilize | make more subtle or refined |
| rarefy | lessen the density / density or solidity of |
| rationalize, rationalise | Remove irrational quantities from |
| recombine | Cause genetic recombination |
| recommend | make attractive or acceptable |
| reconstruct | Cause somebody to adapt or reform socially or politically |
| refine | make more precise or increase the discriminatory powers of |
| reflate | (economics) raise demand, expand the money supply, or raise prices, after a period of deflation |
| reform, reclaim, regenerate, rectify | Bring, lead, or force to abandon a wrong or evil course of life, conduct, and adopt a right one |
| refresh, freshen, refreshen | make fresh again |
| relax, loosen | make less severe or strict / strict / strict / strict / strict |
| remodel, reconstruct, redo | Do over, as of (part of) a house |
| restore, reinstate, reestablish | bring back into original existence, use, function, or position |
| revolutionize, revolutionise, overturn | change radically |
| right | put in or restore to an upright position |
| right, compensate, redress, correct | make reparations or amends for |
| ripen, mature | Cause to ripen or develop fully |
| romanticize, romanticise | make romantic in style |
| round off, round down, round out, round | Express as a round number |
| rusticate | lend a rustic character to |
| sanitize, sanitise | make less offensive or more acceptable by removing objectionable features |
| saponify | convert into soap by hydrolizing an ester into an acid and alcohol as a result of treating it with an alkali |
| saturate | Cause (a chemical compound, vapour, solution, magnetic material) to unite with the greatest possible amount of another substance |
| sauce | add zest or flavor to, make more interesting |
| schematize, schematise | Give conventional form to |
| scramble | make unintelligible |
| sensitize, sensitise, sensify, sensibilize, sensibilise | make sensitive or aware |
| sensitize, sensitise | make (a material) sensitive to light, often of a particular colour, by coating / coating it with a photographic emulsion |
| sensitize, sensitise | make sensitive to a drug or allergen |
| sentimentalize, sentimentalise | make (someone or something) sentimental or imbue with sentimental qualities |
| set | put into a certain state |
| sexualize, sexualise | make sexual, endow with sex, attribute sex to |
| shade | Vary slightly |
| shake | Bring to a specified condition by or as if by shaking |
| shallow, shoal | make shallow |
| shape, form | Give shape or form to |
| sharpen | Raise the pitch of (musical notes) |
| sharpen | make sharp / sharp / sharp / sharp or sharper / sharper / sharper / sharper |
| shift | Move from one setting or context to another |
| shorten | make short or shorter |
| simplify | make simpler or easier or reduce in complexity or extent |
| slenderize, slenderise | make slender or appear to be slender |
| smut | make obscene |
| sober | Cause to become sober |
| socialize, socialise | make conform to socialist ideas and philosophies |
| soften | make soft or softer |
| solemnize, solemnise | make solemn and grave |
| solvate | Cause a solvation in (a substance) |
| spice, spice up | make more interesting or flavorful |
| spike, lace, fortify | add alcohol to (beverages) |
| sputter | Cause to undergo a process in which atoms are removed |
| stabilize, stabilise | make stable and keep from fluctuating or put into an equilibrium |
| stain | produce or leave stains |
| steepen | make steeper |
| stiffen | make stiff or stiffer |
| still | make motionless |
| straighten, straighten out | make straight |
| strengthen, beef up, fortify | make strong or stronger |
| string | Provide with strings |
| substitute, replace, interchange, exchange | put in the place of another |
| suburbanize, suburbanise | make suburban in character |
| supercharge, pressurize, pressurise | increase the pressure on a gas or liquid / liquid |
| supple | make pliant and flexible |
| suspend | Cause to be held in suspension in a fluid |
| suspend, set aside | make inoperative or stop |
| sweeten | make sweeter, more pleasant, or more agreeable / agreeable |
| switch, change over, shift | make a shift in or exchange of |
| symmetrize, symmetrise | make symmetric |
| synchronize, synchronise | make (motion picture sound) exactly simultaneous with the action |
| tame, chasten, subdue | correct by punishment or discipline |
| tender, tenderize, tenderise | make tender or more tender as by marinating, pounding, or applying a tenderizer |
| tense | increase the tension on |
| territorialize, territorialise | place on a territorial basis |
| thicken, inspissate | make thick or thicker |
| think | Bring into a given condition by mental preoccupation |
| tighten, fasten | make tight / tight or tighter / tighter |
| tone down, moderate, tame | make less strong or intense |
| touch, disturb | tamper with |
| transaminate | change (an amino group) by transferring it from one compound to another |
| transfigure, glorify, spiritualize | elevate or idealize, in allusion to Christ's transfiguration |
| transform, transmute, transubstantiate | change or alter in form, appearance, or nature |
| transform | subject to a mathematical transformation |
| transform | increase or decrease (an alternating current or voltage) |
| transform | change (a bacterial cell) into a genetically distinct cell by the introduction of DNA from another cell of the same or closely related species |
| transform | convert (one form of energy) to another |
| transitivize, transitivise | make transitive |
| translate, transform | change from one form or medium into another |
| transmute | Alter the nature of (elements) |
| transpose | change key |
| turn | Cause to change or turn into something different |
| turn back, invert, reverse | Turn inside out or upside down |
| uglify | make ugly |
| unclutter, clear | Rid of obstructions |
| uniformize, uniformise | make uniform / uniform / uniform / uniform |
| unite, unify, merge | join or combine |
| unite, unify | Bring together for a common purpose or action or ideology or in a shared situation |
| unsanctify | Remove the sanctification from or make unsanctified |
| unscramble | make intelligible |
| unsex | Remove the qualities typical of one's sex |
| untie, undo, loosen | Cause to become loose |
| untune | Cause to be out of tune |
| urbanize, urbanise | make more industrial or city-like |
| urbanize, urbanise | Impart urban habits, ways of life, or responsibilities upon |
| validate | make valid or confirm the validity of |
| variegate | change the appearance of, especially by marking with different colors |
| vascularize, vascularise | make vascular |
| ventilate | Furnish with an opening to allow air to circulate or gas to escape |
| verbify | make into a verb |
| vesiculate | Cause to become vesicular or full of air cells |
| visualize, visualise | make visible |
| vitalize, vitalise | Give life to |
| vitrify | change into glass or a glass-like substance by applying heat |
| vivify | make more striking or animated |
| volatilize, volatilise | make volatile |
| vulgarise, vulgarize | debase and make vulgar |
| warm | make warm or warmer |
| weaken | lessen the strength of |
| weaponize | make into or use as a weapon or a potential weapon |
| wet | Cause to become wet |
| widen | make wider |
| worsen, aggravate, exacerbate, exasperate | make worse |
| Spanish | alterar, cambiar, modificar, mudar, retocar, transformar, variar |
|---|
| Catalan | alterar, canviar, modificar, retocar, transformar, variar |
|---|
| Adjectives | alterable | capable of being changed or altered in some characteristic |
|---|
| Nouns | alteration | the act of making something different (as e.g. the size of a garment) |
|---|
| alteration | an event that occurs when something passes from one state or phase to another |
