Conform vs Alter - What's the difference?
conform | alter | Related terms |
(intransitive, of persons, often followed by to) To act in accordance with expectations; to behave in the manner of others, especially as a result of social pressure.
* 1822 , , Peveril of the Peak , ch. 1:
* 1839 , , The Voyage of the Beagle , ch. 4:
To be in accordance with a set of specifications or regulations, or with a policy or guideline.
* 1919 , , The Camp Fire Girls Do Their Bit , ch. 11:
* 2006 22 Dec., "
To make similar in form or nature; to make suitable for a purpose; to adapt.
* , "Vanbrugh's House" in The Poems of Jonathan Swift (1910 edition):
* 1836 , , Nature , ch. 6:
To change the form or structure of.
* Bible, Psalms lxxxix. 34
* Shakespeare
* Alexander Pope
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.
Conform is a related term of alter.
As a verb conform
is (intransitive|of persons|often followed by to) to act in accordance with expectations; to behave in the manner of others, especially as a result of social pressure.As an adjective alter is
.conform
English
Verb
(en verb)- [H]e had a dispensation for conforming in outward observances to the Protestant faith.
- [B]y conforming to the dress and habits of the Gauchos, he has obtained an unbounded popularity in the country.
- In height and breadth it conformed to the prescribed measurements laid down by the rules of the contest.
Judge Cuts Amount of Vioxx Award," New York Times (retrieved 7 June 2011):
- A judge in a Texas widow’s lawsuit over the Merck drug Vioxx reduced a $32 million jury award to about $7.75 million on Thursday so that it conformed to state law.
- There is a worm by Phoebus bred,
- By leaves of mulberry is fed,
- Which unprovided where to dwell,
- Conforms itself to weave a cell.
- The sensual man conforms' thoughts to things; the poet ' conforms things to his thoughts.
Synonyms
* (act in accordance with expectations) acquiesce, comply, go along to get along, knuckle under, submitalter
English
Alternative forms
* altre (obsolete)Verb
(en verb)- My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.
- No power in Venice can alter a decree.
- It gilds all objects, but it alters none.
- (Milton)