alteração

Alteração is a Portuguese noun that denotes the act or result of changing something. It derives from alterar, meaning to change, and is often used to indicate modification, adjustment, or transformation in various contexts.

In everyday language, alteração is a generic term for any change in plans, appearance, state, or condition. Examples include alteração de hábitos (change of habits), alteração de posição (change of position), and alterações desejadas (desired changes). The word is widely used in both Brazilian and European Portuguese and is common in formal and informal discourse.

In legal and administrative contexts, alteração refers to modifications to documents, contracts, or statutes. Alteração contratual denotes changes to contract terms, while alteração de estatuto social or de regras internas indicates modifications to an organization’s bylaws or internal rules. Such changes typically require agreement by the parties involved and may follow specific procedures.

In medicine and biosciences, alteração describes deviations or abnormal states, such as alterações laboratoriais (laboratory abnormalities), alterações metabólicas (metabolic alterations), or alterações neurológicas (neurological changes). In genetics, alterações genéticas (genetic alterations) and alterações cromossômicas (chromosomal alterations) refer to genetic variations or mutations.

In data management and information technology, alteração de dados signifies the modification of records or inputs, often recorded for audit and security purposes.

Synonyms include modificação, mudança, transformação, and ajuste. The term is versatile and frequently paired with qualifiers to specify the domain of change.