Word Confusion: Altar versus Alter

Posted May 23, 2013 by Kathy Davie in Author Resources, Self-Editing, Word Confusions, Writing

Revised as of
20 June 2023

Don’t alter that altar! You never know if the ancestors will get upset!

Almost as upset as an editor might get if you confuse these two words . . . *grin* . . . !

Seriously though, there is a big difference between an altar at which one worships a particular deity as opposed to alter which may allow you to change how the altar looks, but will also change just about anything.

Word Confusions . . .

. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.

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Altar	Alter
Altar Providenzkirche HD is 4028mdk09‘s own work is under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons.	Roddy McDowall Planet of the Apes Makeup, 1974, is courtesy of CBS Television and in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. — Fascinating to see how a makeup artist can alter a man’s face.
Part of Grammar:
Noun Plural: altars	Verb, intransitive & transitive Third person present verb: alters Past tense or past participle: altered Present participle: altering
Table in a Christian church at which the bread and wine are consecrated in communion services A table or flat-topped block used as the focus for a religious ritual, especially for making sacrifices or offerings to a deity	Verb, intransitive: Change or cause to change in character or composition, typically in a comparatively small but significant way Verb, transitive: Change or cause to change in character or composition, typically in a comparatively small but significant way Make structural changes to a building Tailor clothing for a better fit or to conform to fashion [North America & Australia] Castrate or spay a domestic animal
Examples:
He knelt before the altar before making his way to the sacristy. Someone had sacrificed chickens on this altar. Many Buddhists set up a personal altar at home.	Verb, intransitive: Our outward appearance alters as we get older. I find him much altered. Things in the village have altered for the better. Verb, transitive: We have plans to alter the building once we buy it. Nothing alters the fact that we’re divorced. We may remain the same on the inside, but we certainly alter on the outside. I’m going to have to get this hem altered.
Derivatives:
	Adjective: alterable, altered, half-altered, unaltering Adverb: alterably Noun: alterability, alteration, alterer, altering Verb: prealter, realter
History of the Word:
Old English altar from the late Latin altar, altarium, which are from the Latin altus for high.	Late Middle English from the Old French alterer which is from the late Latin alterare which is from the Latin alter or other.

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C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!

Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.

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