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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 (gcide)

Alter \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.
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Alter \Al"ter\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Altered}; p. pr. & vb. n.
{Altering}.] [F. alt['e]rer, 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.
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It gilds all objects, but it alters none. --Pope.
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My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing
that is gone out of my lips. --Ps. lxxxix.
34.
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2. To agitate; to affect mentally. [Obs.] --Milton.
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3. To geld. [Colloq.]
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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.
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