What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

Alter vs Impact - What's the difference?

alter | impact |

Impact is a synonym of alter.



In transitive terms the difference between alter and impact

is that alter is to castrate, neuter or spay (a dog or other animal) while impact is to collide or strike.

As a noun impact is

the striking of one body against another; collision.

alter

English

Alternative forms

* altre (obsolete)

Verb

(en verb)
  • To change the form or structure of.
  • * Bible, Psalms lxxxix. 34
  • My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.
  • * Shakespeare
  • No power in Venice can alter a decree.
  • * Alexander Pope
  • It gilds all objects, but it alters none.
  • To become different.
  • To tailor clothes to make them fit.
  • To castrate, neuter or spay (a dog or other animal).
  • (obsolete) To agitate; to affect mentally.
  • (Milton)

    Derived terms

    * alterer * alterability * alterative * alterable * alterably

    Anagrams

    * * * * * ----

    impact

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • The striking of one body against another; collision.
  • The force or energy of a collision of two objects.
  • The hatchet cut the wood on impact .
  • (chiefly, medicine) A forced impinging.
  • His spine had an impingement; L4 and L5 made impact , which caused numbness in his leg.
  • A significant or strong influence; an effect.
  • His friend's opinion had an impact on his decision.
    Our choice of concrete will have a tremendous impact on the building's mechanical performance.

    Usage notes

    * Adjectives often applied to "impact": social, political, physical, positive, negative, good, bad, beneficial, harmful, significant, great, important, strong, big, small, real, huge, likely, actual, potential, devastating, disastrous, true, primary. * The adposition generally used with "impact" is "on" (such as in last example in section above) * There are English speakers who are so ). In defensive editing, the solution is to replace the figurative noun sense with effect'' and the verb sense with ''affect , which nearly always produces an acceptable result. (Rarely, a phrase such as "the impact of late effects" is better stetted to avoid "the effect of [...] effects".)

    Derived terms

    * impactful * impactive * impact statement * Western impact

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To compress; to compact; to press or pack together.
  • If fecal incontinence is caused by impacted stool in the rectum, the impaction must be removed.
  • (proscribed) To influence; to affect; to have an on.
  • ''I can make the changes, but it will impact the schedule.
  • To collide or strike.
  • When the hammer impacts the nail, it bends.

    Usage notes

    Some authorities object to the verb sense of impact'', meaning "to influence; to affect; to have an impact on" or "to collide or strike". Although most .

    Derived terms

    * impactor