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

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Etymology

Origin of alternative

First recorded in 1580–90; alternate + -ive

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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

“AMD is the most direct alternative in data-center accelerators,” Wagner said, referring to advanced hardware components for artificial-intelligence workloads.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 10, 2026

“We’ve got to convince the developers that you can get mass timber up more quickly than the alternative building product,” Stockfish recently told investors.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 10, 2026

Her lawyers argued that Judge William Sullivan, who presided over the 26-day jury trial last summer, acted prematurely when he declared a mistrial on 4 September, saying that he should have sought a viable alternative.

From BBC ● Nov. 9, 2026

The scientists identified brevican, a protein naturally distributed throughout the brain, as a promising alternative.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 8, 2026

“Do you have an alternative, Alter? Do you want to wait for Mr. Whitby all night, if he’s just lying dead in there?”

From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros

Huang has lobbied the US government to allow Nvidia chip sales to China, warning that the restrictions are fuelling the rise of competitive homegrown alternatives.

From Barron's ● Nov. 10, 2026

But if all you do on your tablet is read books, watch videos and browse the web, Amazon’s alternatives have never looked better.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 8, 2026

The council said it was a quick way to provide new housing, and was a cheaper option than some alternatives.

From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026

Founded in 2006, 2nd Call has sought to mediate gang disputes and provide alternatives to violence in the community.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026

You can see things that we cannot, you can see connections and possibilities and alternatives that are invisible to us, just as sraf was invisible to you.

From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman

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Related Words

• opportunity
• option
• substitute

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