ALTER_TEXT_SEARCH_DICTIONARY(7pg18)

💖 ALTER TEXT SEARCH DICTIONARY 💖

okay bestie, so this is the PostgreSQL 18.6 manual page for ALTER_TEXT_SEARCH_DICTIONARY(7) — yes the title is literally screaming at you in all caps, that's just how manpages are, they're dramatic like that 💅

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✨ NAME ✨

ALTER_TEXT_SEARCH_DICTIONARY — change the definition of a text search dictionary 🦋

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🌸 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_ROLE | CURRENT_USER | SESSION_USER }
ALTER TEXT SEARCH DICTIONARY name SET SCHEMA new_schema

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👑 DESCRIPTION 👑

So like. ALTER TEXT SEARCH DICTIONARY changes the definition of a text search dictionary. That's it, that's the whole vibe ✨

You can change the dictionary's template-specific options, or you can change the dictionary's name or owner. Mix and match, choose your own adventure, main character energy fr fr.

💀 but listen — you must be the owner of the dictionary to use ALTER TEXT SEARCH DICTIONARY. no owner privileges, no entry. periodt.

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🎀 PARAMETERS 🎀

• name — the name of an existing text search dictionary. optionally schema-qualified, so you can be extra specific if you want 🫶
• option — the name of a template-specific option that's getting set for this dictionary.
• value — the new value for that template-specific option. and here's the tea: if you skip the equal sign and the value entirely, then any previous setting for that option gets removed from the dictionary, which lets the default just do its thing 🌈
• new_name — the new name of the text search dictionary. glow up name change ✨
• new_owner — the new owner of the text search dictionary.
• new_schema — the new schema for the text search dictionary.

also!! template-specific options can appear in any order. no rules, no order, we're free 🦋

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🍓 EXAMPLES 🍓

okay example time, this is the fun part, look at her go 💖

The following example command changes the stopword list for a Snowball-based dictionary. Other parameters remain unchanged.

ALTER TEXT SEARCH DICTIONARY my_dict ( StopWords = newrussian );

The following example command changes the language option to dutch, and removes the stopword option entirely.

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

The following example command “updates” the dictionary's definition without actually changing anything. yes bestie, a no-op, and it's iconic for it 💅

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. so like, a lil sneaky refresh button. lowkey genius, no cap 🔥

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🌈 COMPATIBILITY 🌈

There is no ALTER TEXT SEARCH DICTIONARY statement in the SQL standard. not a standard girlie, she's a PostgreSQL original 😌

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💜 SEE ALSO 💜

• CREATE TEXT SEARCH DICTIONARY (CREATE_TEXT_SEARCH_DICTIONARY(7))
• DROP TEXT SEARCH DICTIONARY (DROP_TEXT_SEARCH_DICTIONARY(7))

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and that's the whole page bestie!! this was PostgreSQL 18.6, dated 2026 — go forth and alter ur dictionaries, you absolute icon 👑💖✨