brutalize vs alter

brutalize and alter both are verbs.

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

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

Other hypernyms of brutalize include change, modify.

brutalize (verb)	alter (verb)
become brutal or insensitive and unfeeling	remove the ovaries of
make brutal, unfeeling, or inhuman	become different in some particular way, without permanently losing one's or its former characteristics or essence
treat brutally	cause to change; make different; cause a transformation
	insert words into texts, often falsifying it thereby
	make an alteration to