alter

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Related to alters: alerts

alter beyond (all) recognition

To change so much or so dramatically as to now be completely unfamiliar or unrecognizable. She had shown me some early drafts, but her final copy was really altered beyond all recognition.
See also: alter, beyond, recognition

alter ego

1. Another name or identity that one assumes. He's a clean-cut accountant during the week, but on the weekend he indulges in hedonistic pursuits as his alter ego "Jack."
2. A separate or different aspect or element of one's personality, identity, or psyche. For such a quiet woman, she has a rage and temper at times that is like some alter ego.
3. A close, inseparable friend of very similar attitudes and interests. My girlfriend and I are so similar, we are like each other's alter ego.
4. A person who acts as a substitute for or copy of another person; a doppelgänger. Due to his increasingly failing health, the dictator's son has been running the country for the past month, essentially as his alter ego.
See also: alter, ego

alter out of (all) recognition

To change so much or so dramatically as to now be completely unfamiliar or unrecognizable. She had shown me some early drafts, but her final copy was really altered out of recognition.
See also: alter, of, out, recognition

change beyond (all) recognition

To change so much or so dramatically as to now be completely unfamiliar or unrecognizable. I wouldn't have recognized her if she hadn't introduced herself—she's really changed beyond all recognition since we were kids!
See also: beyond, change, recognition

change out of (all) recognition

To change so much or so dramatically as to now be completely unfamiliar or unrecognizable. I wouldn't have recognized her if she hadn't introduced herself—she's really changed out of recognition since we were kids!
See also: change, of, out, recognition

circumstances alter cases

proverb Unique circumstances can spur unconventional action. I know offering such a big refund isn't protocol, but it's for the CEO's grandmother, and circumstances alter cases.
See also: alter, case, circumstance
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

Circumstances alter cases.

Prov. In unusual situations, people are allowed to do unusual things. Cashier: I'm sorry, this store does not accept personal checks. Customer: But I need this medicine, and I don't have any cash. I've shopped at this store for fifteen years. Surely you can trust me this once. Cashier: Well, all right. Circumstances alter cases.
See also: alter, case, Circumstance
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

change, alter, etc. beyond/out of (all) recogˈnition

change, etc. such a lot that people do not recognize you, it, etc: I went back to Birmingham after 20 years and it had changed beyond all recognition. ♢ She had changed beyond all recognition since I last saw her.
See also: beyond, of, out, recognition
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
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References in periodicals archive ?
The child alters, referred to as Littles, trigger Franz's alter Damien to come out, who is 'the dad' of the system.
Couple have more than 400 personalities between them - and struggle with everyday tasks because they're 'all fighting to be heard'; EXCLUSIVE: Kai, 27, and Franz, 26, both have a severe mental condition known as dissociative identity disorder which means they often switch between different personalities
Women who reported only religious alters were significantly less informed about HIV than other female participants.
Sexual conversation networks and young adults' sexual health in a Southeast-European context
The first work they created was originally a poetry book that was re-titled "The Book of Altered Poetry and Art."
Literary art
To establish an ADA claim a student-athlete must show: he has a disability, the defendant is subject to the ADA, and that he was denied the opportunity to participate in or benefit from services or accommodations on the basis of his disability and that reasonable accommodations could be made that do not fundamentally alter the nature of the defendant's services or accommodations.
An overview: individuals with disabilities and the interscholastic athletic program
Exposure to very low doses of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) during fetal life permanently alters brain development and behavior in animals and humans.
A case for revisiting the safety of pesticides: a closer look at neurodevelopment
Other factors alter the color of hair samples, too, reports Wis-Surel.
Chemistry of Colors and Curls
As Braude says, the CR-principle is also weakened by the fact that alters seem to be adaptational, i.e.
First Person Plural: Multiple Personality and the Philosophy of Mind
These solicitations are anticipated to stimulate research directed toward the understanding of the role of epigenetic modulation of gene expression in a variety of diseases and dysfunctions and the modulation of epigenetic regulation by environmental chemicals either alone or in combination with altered nutrition.
Environmental influences on epigenetic regulation
Some people consider the hallucinations and altered thinking of schizophrenia as akin to mystical visions.
Into the mystic: scientists confront the lazy realm of spiritual enlightenment
There, it binds retinoic acid receptor beta, which, in turn, alters the expression of genes that may play a role in tumor formation.
It's all in the interaction: quantitating gene networks
Ethylene sets off a chemical cascade inside plant cells that alters genetic activity, says Joseph J.
Plants relay signals much as animals do
Dioxin alters multiple endocrine systems, and its effects on the developing breast involve delayed proliferation and differentiation of the mammary gland, as well as an elongation of the window of sensitivity to potential carcinogens.
Cancer and developmental exposure to endocrine disruptors. (Research)
Animal studies have suggested that chlorine ingestion alters the body's handling of cholesterol and fats.
Radical concerns over drinking water
To determine if exposure to estrogenic compounds alters the extent of apoptosis that occurs during development, we assayed Xenopus embryos exposed to nonylphenol, octylphenol, methoxychlor, or [E.sub.2] at early gastrula stages for the number of TUNEL-stained cells in cranial, trunk, tail, and enteric regions (Figure 7).
Environmental estrogens alter early development in Xenopus laevis. (Research)
Although these studies were undertaken in the adult animal, they may ultimately aid in furthering our understanding of some of the mechanisms by which developmental exposure to PCBs alters neuronal function.
Polychlorinated biphenyls alter extraneuronal but not tissue dopamine concentrations in adult rat striatum: an in vivo microdialysis study. (Articles)
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