ALTER_TEXT_SEARCH_DICTIONARY(7pg13)

okay bestie, you’re looking at the ALTER_TEXT_SEARCH_DICTIONARY(7pg13) page from PostgreSQL 13.23 Documentation — yes, the pg13 manual — and it’s giving “makeover for your text search dictionary.” I’m obsessed already. 💅✨

💖 NAME 💖

ALTER_TEXT_SEARCH_DICTIONARY — change the definition of a text search dictionary. lowkey iconic, highkey useful. 🫶

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

ALTER TEXT SEARCH DICTIONARY name (
    option [ = value ] [, ... ]
)
ALTER TEXT SEARCH DICTIONARY name RENAME TO new_name
ALTER TEXT SEARCH DICTIONARY name OWNER TO { new_owner | CURRENT_USER | SESSION_USER }
ALTER TEXT SEARCH DICTIONARY name SET SCHEMA new_schema

🎀 DESCRIPTION 🎀

ALTER TEXT SEARCH DICTIONARY changes the definition of a text search dictionary. You can change the dictionary’s template-specific options, or change the dictionary’s name or owner. main character command behavior, fr fr. 💖

⚠️ bestie, you must be the owner of the dictionary to use ALTER TEXT SEARCH DICTIONARY. that’s the rule, periodt. 👑

💅 PARAMETERS 💅

• name — the name of an existing text search dictionary, optionally schema-qualified. yep, it can have that schema little accessory. 🎀
• option — the name of a template-specific option to be set for this dictionary. very “pick your setting” energy. ✨
• value — the new value to use for a template-specific option. If the equal sign and value are omitted, then any previous setting for the option is removed from the dictionary, allowing the default to be used. so option alone is basically “clear this setting, bestie.” 🧹
• new_name — the new name of the text search dictionary. rebranding slay. 💅
• new_owner — the new owner of the text search dictionary. handing over the keys. 🔑
• new_schema — the new schema for the text search dictionary. moving it to a new neighborhood. 🏡

Template-specific options can appear in any order. no lineup drama. 🌈

🌸 EXAMPLES 🌸

The following example command changes the stopword list for a Snowball-based dictionary. Other parameters remain unchanged. literally just a little stopword glow-up. ❄️

ALTER TEXT SEARCH DICTIONARY my_dict ( StopWords = newrussian );

The following example command changes the language option to dutch, and removes the StopWords option entirely. out with the old stopwords, in with the Dutch. 🇳🇱

ALTER TEXT SEARCH DICTIONARY my_dict ( language = dutch, StopWords );

The following example command “updates” the dictionary’s definition without actually changing anything. not me doing a full update that changes nothing 💀

ALTER TEXT SEARCH DICTIONARY my_dict ( dummy );

(The reason this works is that the option removal code doesn’t complain if there is no such option.) This trick is useful when changing configuration files for the dictionary: the ALTER will force existing database sessions to re-read the configuration files, which otherwise they would never do if they had read them earlier. lowkey a forced refresh moment. 🔥

🦋 COMPATIBILITY 🦋

There is no ALTER TEXT SEARCH DICTIONARY statement in the SQL standard. so this is PostgreSQL-specific behavior, iykyk. 🦋

👑 SEE ALSO 👑

• CREATE TEXT SEARCH DICTIONARY (CREATE_TEXT_SEARCH_DICTIONARY(7)) — because you gotta create the dictionary before you can alter it, bestie. 💖
• DROP TEXT SEARCH DICTIONARY (DROP_TEXT_SEARCH_DICTIONARY(7)) — for when the dictionary has to go. byeee 👋

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mwah 💋 this cutie was brought to you by PostgreSQL 13.23, dated 2025, from the pg13 manual. bye bestie! 🫶✨