alternative
/ɔːlˈtɜː.nə.tɪv/UK/ɒlˈtɜː.nə.tɪv/
alternative adjective: relating to a choice between two or more possibilities.
Adjective
alternative (not comparable)
- Relating to a choice between two or more possibilities.
- an alternative proposition
- There are two alternative theories as to why this phenomenon occurs.
- Presenting two or more alternatives.
- alternative conjunctions like or
- Other; different from something else.
- 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.2011 May 11, Sam Leith, “Sam Leith's top 10 alternative realities”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 07 Mar 2021
- Not traditional, outside the mainstream, underground.
- alternative medicine; alternative lifestyle; alternative rock
- Alternate, reciprocal.
- 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.1601, Pliny the Elder, “Of the seuen Planets”, in Philemon Holland, transl., The History of the World Commonly Called the Naturall Historie of C. Plinius Secundus, translation of Naturalis Historia...
Noun
alternative (plural alternatives)
- A situation which allows a mutually exclusive choice between two or more possibilities; a choice between two or more possibilities.
- 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?”1817 December 31 (indicated as 1818), [Walter Scott], chapter [XI], in Rob Roy. […], volume I, Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for Archibald Constable and Co. […]; London: Longman, Hurst...
- One of several mutually exclusive things which can be chosen.
- 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.1803, Chief Justice John Marshall, Marbury v. Madison
- The remaining option; something available after other possibilities have been exhausted.
- alternative rock
- A non-offensive word or phrase that serves as a replacement for a word deemed offensive or unacceptable, though not as a euphemism.
- 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.
alternative meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
alternative in Hindi
- relating to a choice
- वैकल्पिक vaikalpik
- other
- वैकल्पिक vaikalpik
- one of several things which can be chosen
- विकल्प vikalp
alternative in Tamil
- மாற்று, மாற்றாக, பதிலீடாக, வேறு வழி
alternative in Marathi
- alternative
- गत्यंतर gatyantar
- an alternative; a succedaneum or substitute
- गौणकल्प gauṇkalpa
alternative in Urdu
- متبادل, بدلے میں, بجائے
More languagesFewer languages
- alternative in Bengali
- দোসরা dōśora
- alternative in Telugu
- ప్రత్యామ్నాయం pratyāmnāyaṁ
- alternative in Malayalam
- ബദൽ badal, പകരം pakaraṁ
- alternative in Kannada
- ಆಯ್ಕೆಯ
- alternative in Gujarati
- વૈકલ્પિક
- alternative in Assamese
- দোছোৰা düsüra
- alternative in Nepali
- वैकल्पिक
- alternative in Malay
- alternatif
- alternative in Persian
- آلترناتیو âlternativ
Examples of alternative in a sentence
- 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.1911, “Phillips v. Rohrer”, in Penn State Law Review, volume 16, →OCLC, page 46:
- In general critics have seen this confrontation as offering an alternative choice: either we are free or we are predetermined.2014, C.A. Longhurst, Unamuno's Theory of the Novel, Routledge, →ISBN, page 162:
Synonyms of alternative
Antonyms
Forms of alternative
| plural | alternatives |
|---|
Origin of alternative
From Middle French alternatif, from Medieval Latin alternātīvus (“alternating”), from the participle stem of Latin alternō (“interchange, alternate”). By surface analysis, alternate + -ive. Compare alternate.
Words formed from alternative
- alternapop
- alternarock
- alternateen
- alternative algebra
- alternative archaeology
- alternative beta
- alternative brit
- alternative cannabinoid
- alternative country
- alternative denial
- alternative dispute resolution
- alternative energy
- alternative episcopal oversight
- alternative fact
- alternative fashion
- alternative fertilization
- alternative fuel
- alternative fund
- alternative hip-hop
- alternative hip hop
- alternative historian
- alternative history
- alternative hypothesis
- alternative investment
- alternative investment fund
- alternative left
- alternative liability
- alternative lifestyle
- alternative medicine
- alternative metal
- alternative minimum tax
- alternative music
- alternative pop
- alternative press
- alternative provision
- alternative right
- alternative RNA splicing
- alternative rock
- alternative school
- alternative service
- alternative timeline
- alternative tourism
- alternative universe
- alternative vote
- alternativist
- alternativity
- altlang
- altnoid
- coalternative
- dark alternative scene
- mallternative
- malternative
- multialternative
- nonalternative
- unalternative
- y'allternative
- adult album alternative
- adult alternative
- Tits alternative
Phrases with alternative
Questions about alternative
- What does alternative mean?
- Alternative means relating to a choice between two or more possibilities.
- What is alternative in Hindi?
- Alternative in Hindi is वैकल्पिक (vaikalpik), विकल्प (vikalp). See Alternative meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use alternative in a sentence?
- 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.
- What part of speech is alternative?
- Alternative can be an adjective or a noun.
- How do you pronounce alternative?
- Alternative is pronounced /ɒlˈtɜː.nə.tɪv/ (UK).
Words near alternative in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: alternative (page history and authors); alternative (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); गत्यंतर (Marathi) (page history and authors); alternative (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); দোসরা (Bengali) (page history and authors); alternative (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); alternative (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); দোছোৰা (Assamese) (page history and authors); alternative (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-alternative.ogg.
Cite this entry: “alternative.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/alternative. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.