reinstate vs alter

reinstate and alter both are verbs.

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

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

Other hypernyms of reinstate include change, modify.

reinstate (verb)	alter (verb)
restore to the previous state or rank	remove the ovaries of
bring back into original existence, use, function, or position	become different in some particular way, without permanently losing one's or its former characteristics or essence
	cause to change; make different; cause a transformation
	insert words into texts, often falsifying it thereby
	make an alteration to