alter vs remain

alter

verb
  • To become different. 

  • To castrate, neuter or spay (a dog or other animal). 

  • To change the form or structure of. 

  • To tailor clothes to make them fit. 

  • To affect mentally, as by psychotropic drugs or illness. 

noun
  • An identity or headmate of a person with dissociative identity disorder (previously known as multiple personality disorder). A member of a system. 

remain

verb
  • To continue in a state of being. 

  • To await; to be left to. 

  • To continue unchanged in place, form, or condition, or undiminished in quantity; to abide; to stay; to endure; to last. 

  • To be left after a number or quantity has been subtracted or cut off; to be left as not included or comprised. 

  • To stay after others or other parts have been removed or otherwise disappeared. 

noun
  • That which is left; relic; remainder. 

  • That which is left of a human being after the life is gone; relics; a dead body. 

  • Posthumous works or productions, especially literary works. 

How often have the words alter and remain occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )