otherwise
UK/ˈʌð.əˌwaɪz//ˈʌð.ɚˌwaɪz/
otherwise adverb: differently, in another way.
Adverb
otherwise (not comparable)
- Differently, in another way.
- Near-synonyms: contrarily, contrastingly
- You may have a point, but I think otherwise.
- Synonyms:
- elsewise, contrarily, contrastingly
- Antonyms:
- likewise, thuswise, nohow, in no way, not at all, by no means
- In different circumstances; or else.
- I’m not well today, otherwise I would have helped.
- You have to open your umbrella, otherwise you'll get wet.
- Synonyms:
- elsewise
- In all other respects; apart from that; except for this.
- He lost his temper once in a while. Otherwise he behaved rationally.
- There was one rotten apple in an otherwise perfect batch.
- Synonyms:
- elsewise
Adjective
otherwise (not comparable)
- Other than supposed; different.
- He said he didn’t do it, but the evidence was otherwise.
- Statistics need lots of information, digital and otherwise.
otherwise meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
otherwise in Hindi
- differently, in another way
- नहीं तो nahī̃ to, अन्यथा anyathā
- under different circumstances
- वरना varnā
- in all other respects
- वरना varnā
otherwise in Tamil
- differently, in another way
- வேறு மாதிரி vēṟu mātiri
- under different circumstances
- இல்லையென்றால் illaiyeṉṟāl
- in all other respects
- மற்றப்படி maṟṟappaṭi, மற்றும்படி maṟṟumpaṭi
otherwise in Marathi
- differently, in another way
- नाहीतर nāhītar, अन्यथा anyathā
otherwise in Urdu
- under different circumstances
- ورنہ varnā
- in all other respects
- ورنہ varna, وگرنہ vagarna
More languagesFewer languages
- otherwise in Bengali
- অন্যথায় onnothaẏ
- otherwise in Malayalam
- അല്ലെങ്കിൽ, നോചേൽ, അഥവാ, അന്യഥാ
- otherwise in Kannada
- ಅನ್ಯಥಾ anyathā
- otherwise in Punjabi
- ਓਦਾਂ oddā̃, اوداں oddā̃, ਉਂਞ ūñj
- otherwise in Gujarati
- અથવા તો athavā to
- otherwise in Sanskrit
- अन्यथा anyáthā
- otherwise in Assamese
- নহ’লে nohöle
- otherwise in Nepali
- फेरि pheri
- otherwise in Arabic
- خِلَافَ ḵilāfa, خِلَافَ ذَلِك ḵilāfa ḏalik, عَكْسَ ذَلِك ʕaksa ḏalik, وَإِلَّا waʔillā
- otherwise in Persian
- دگرسان degarsān, وگرنه vagarna, در غیر این صورت dar ġeyr-e in surat, والا vâellâ
- otherwise in Vietnamese
- bằng không
Examples of otherwise in a sentence
- Do you want the newest items put up top, or do you want it done otherwise?
- Could I do otherwise than smile?
- It is not permitted to sell or otherwise distribute any copies.
- If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, euen the wordes of our Lord Iesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godlinesse:1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 1 Timothy 6:3:
- And I cannot do otherwise, if I claim to be a worshipper of Truth. […]1927-29, M.K. Gandhi, The Story of My Experiments with Truth, translated 1940 by Mahadev Desai, Part I, Chapter iii
- Otherwise his pelt would not have been so perfect.1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter 1, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC:
Synonyms of otherwise
Antonyms
Origin of otherwise
From Middle English otherwise, othre wise, from Old English on ōþre wīsan (literally “in (on) other/different manner”); equivalent to other + -wise. Compare West Frisian yn oarwei (“otherwise”), Icelandic öðruvísi (“different”).
Words formed from otherwise
Questions about otherwise
- What does otherwise mean?
- Otherwise means differently, in another way.
- What is otherwise in Hindi?
- Otherwise in Hindi is नहीं तो (nahī̃ to), अन्यथा (anyathā), वरना (varnā). See Otherwise meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use otherwise in a sentence?
- Do you want the newest items put up top, or do you want it done otherwise?
- What part of speech is otherwise?
- Otherwise can be an adverb or an adjective.
- How do you pronounce otherwise?
- Otherwise is pronounced /ˈʌð.əˌwaɪz/ (UK).
Words near otherwise in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: otherwise (page history and authors); অন্যথায় (Bengali) (page history and authors); otherwise (Olam, E.K. Kurup corpus) (dataset and license); ಅನ್ಯಥಾ (Kannada) (page history and authors); اوداں (Punjabi) (page history and authors); અથવા તો (Gujarati) (page history and authors); फेरि (Nepali) (page history and authors). 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-otherwise.ogg.
Cite this entry: “otherwise.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/otherwise. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.