about-face vs alteration

about-face

noun
  • A reversal in direction; a reversal of attitude or opinion. 

  • An abrupt turn to face the opposite direction. 

verb
  • To turn 180 degrees to face the opposite direction. 

  • To change opinion or attitude drastically. 

alteration

noun
  • The act of altering or making different. 

  • The state of being altered; a change made in the form or nature of a thing; a changed condition. 

How often have the words about-face and alteration occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )