than vs thereby

than

adv
  • At that time; then. 

prep
  • introduces a comparison, and is associated with comparatives, and with words such as more, less, and fewer. Typically, it seeks to measure the force of an adjective or similar description between two predicates. 

conj
  • Used in comparisons, to introduce the basis of comparison. 

thereby

adv
  • By it; by that; by that means, or as a consequence of that. 

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