alternative

American  

[awl-tur-nuh-tiv, al-] / ɔlˈtɜr nə tɪv, æl- /

noun

• alternatives
  plural

1. a choice limited to one of two or more possibilities, as of things, propositions, or courses of action, the selection of which precludes any other possibility.

   You have the alternative of riding or walking.

   Synonyms:

   selection, option

2. one of the things, propositions, or courses of action that can be chosen.

   The alternative to riding is walking.

3. a possible or remaining course or choice.

   There was no alternative but to walk.

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adjective

1. affording a choice of two or more things, propositions, or courses of action.

2. (of two things, propositions, or courses) mutually exclusive so that if one is chosen the other must be rejected.

   The alternative possibilities are neutrality and war.

3. employing or following nontraditional or unconventional ideas, methods, etc.; existing outside the establishment.

   an alternative newspaper; alternative lifestyles.

4. Logic. (of a proposition) asserting two or more choices, at least one of which is true.

alternative British  

/ ɔːlˈtɜːnətɪv /

noun

1. a possibility of choice, esp between two things, courses of action, etc

2. either of such choices

   we took the alternative of walking

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adjective

1. presenting a choice, esp between two possibilities only

2. (of two things) mutually exclusive

3. denoting a lifestyle, culture, art form, etc, regarded by its adherents as preferable to that of contemporary society because it is less conventional, materialistic, or institutionalized, and, often, more in harmony with nature

4. logic another word for disjunctive

Synonym Usage

See choice.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• alternativeness
  noun
• alternativity
  noun
• quasi-alternative
  adjective
• alternatively
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• alternatives
  plural

Etymology

Origin of alternative

First recorded in 1580–90; alternate + -ive

Explanation

When you're facing a fork in the road, you have two possibilities, or alternatives. You could take the left fork and see where it leads, or you could choose the path that goes to the right. Whenever there is an alternative, it involves a choice. A wealthy student has the choice of going to a public school, or the alternative, a private school. Alternative can also refer to a different way of doing things, outside the norm. You might say that a hermit who lives in remote a cave with a pet turtle is living an alternative lifestyle.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

alternative alternatives

Hydrogen is an alternative to gasoline, diesel fuel and natural gas that’s part of California’s climate strategy because it doesn’t produce greenhouse gas emissions when used.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026

His team is pursuing "alternative message delivery methods", realising most people do not directly access traditional media but only "pick up scraps or clips of news on social media," said Buckley.

From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026

An alternative Arctic route, the Northwest Passage that connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans via the Canadian Arctic, is less passable because it is dominated by narrow waterways where ice gets bunched up.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026

The minister has previously said there was no reasonable alternative to the cattle being euthanised on site and has insisted it was a last resort as officials had to act on a court order.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

In English there was an alternative: Robert Boyle invented the term ‘the corpuscularian philosophy’ in 1662 to cover both ancient atomism and Descartes’ new corpuscular theory.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

The difficulty and expense of the various alternatives increases “the attractiveness of a resource that’s already operating and producing clean energy around the clock,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

Longtime drinks writers Caroline Pardilla and Esther Tseng, who both started covering bars in the early 2000s, remember a pre-COVID nightlife landscape with later hours, more clubs and fewer alternatives competing for young people’s time.

From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026

Wallenius Wilhelmsen’s Kristoffersen said during an earnings presentation on Tuesday that up to four million vehicles are exported from China each year in containers or other alternatives to car carriers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

Why do people so often return to familiar choices, even when seemingly better alternatives are available?

From Science Daily ● Aug. 13, 2026

“By any means necessary” meant examine the obstacles, determine the vision, find the resolve, and explore the alternatives toward dissolving the obstacles.

From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey

Related Words

• opportunity
• option
• substitute