decorate vs alter

decorate and alter both are verbs.

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

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

Other hypernyms of decorate include change, modify.

decorate (verb)	alter (verb)
provide with decoration	remove the ovaries of
make more attractive by adding ornament, colour, etc.	become different in some particular way, without permanently losing one's or its former characteristics or essence
award a mark of honor, such as a medal, to	cause to change; make different; cause a transformation
be beautiful to look at	insert words into texts, often falsifying it thereby
	make an alteration to