adorn vs alter

adorn and alter both are verbs.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
adorn	No	No	Yes	No
alter	No	No	Yes	No

As verbs, alter is a hypernym of adorn; that is, alter is a word with a broader meaning than adorn:

Other hypernyms of adorn include change, modify.

adorn (verb)	alter (verb)
make more attractive by adding ornament, colour, etc.	remove the ovaries of
furnish with power or authority; of kings or emperors	become different in some particular way, without permanently losing one's or its former characteristics or essence
be beautiful to look at	cause to change; make different; cause a transformation
	insert words into texts, often falsifying it thereby
	make an alteration to