alternative — English Dictionary

Adjective

1. Relating to a choice between two or more possibilities.

   Usage

   • not-comparable

   Examples

   an alternative proposition

   There are two alternative theories as to why this phenomenon occurs.

   More examples (2)

   Reason would seem to dictate that it was an alternative offer,—either to receive $15,000 if the grantor perform the condition or $12,000 if he did not perform the condition.

   Who is right, Augusto or Unamuno? In general critics have seen this confrontation as offering an alternative choice: either we are free or we are predetermined.

2. Relating to a choice between two or more possibilities. Presenting two or more alternatives.

   Usage

   • not-comparable

   Synonyms

   disjunctive

   Examples

   alternative conjunctions like or

3. Other; different from something else.

   Usage

   • not-comparable

   Examples

   More examples (1)

   Exploring alternative realities isn't just a game for boys. In 1666, Margaret Cavendish, the Duchess of Newcastle, published a utopian fantasy of compelling strangeness.

4. Not traditional, outside the mainstream, underground.

   Usage

   • not-comparable

   Examples

   alternative medicine; alternative lifestyle; alternative rock

5. Alternate, reciprocal.

   Usage

   • not-comparable
   • Obsolete

   Examples

   More examples (1)

   He [the Sun] it is that giveth light to all things, and riddeth them from darkneſſe : hee hideth the other ſtarres, and ſheweth them againe : he ordereth the ſeaſons in their alternative courſe : he tempereth the yeere, ariſing ever freſh and new againe, for the benefite and good of the world.

Noun

1. A situation which allows a mutually exclusive choice between two or more possibilities; a choice between two or more possibilities.

   Examples

   I gave you the alternative; you decided to stay.

   “The cloister or a betrothed husband?” I echoed—“Is that the alternative destined for Miss Vernon?”

2. One of several mutually exclusive things which can be chosen.

   Examples

   More examples (1)

   Between these alternatives there is no middle ground. The Constitution is either a superior, paramount law, unchangeable by ordinary means, or it is on a level with ordinary legislative acts, and, like other acts, is alterable when the legislature shall please to alter it.

3. The remaining option; something available after other possibilities have been exhausted.

4. alternative rock

   Usage

   • Uncountable

5. A non-offensive word or phrase that serves as a replacement for a word deemed offensive or unacceptable, though not as a euphemism.

   Examples

   More examples (1)

   Disability activists discourage the use of the words "crazy" and "insane" due to their negative connections to mental health, suggesting alternatives such as "wild", "silly", or "out of this world", which do not relate to mental health.

Adjective

1. serving or used in place of another

   Synonyms

   alternatesubstitute

   Examples

   an alternative plan

2. necessitating a choice between mutually exclusive possibilities

   Examples

   alternative possibilities were neutrality or war

3. pertaining to unconventional choices

   Examples

   an alternative life style

Noun

1. one of a number of things from which only one can be chosen

   Synonyms

   optionchoice

   Broader terms

   decision makingdeciding

   Examples

   what option did I have?

   there is no other alternative

   More examples (1)

   my only choice is to refuse