alternative

[awl-tur-nuh-tiv, al-]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR alternative ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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.

one of the things, propositions, or courses of action that can be chosen: The alternative to riding is walking.

a possible or remaining course or choice: There was no alternative but to walk.

adjective

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

(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.

employing or following nontraditional or unconventional ideas, methods, etc.; existing outside the establishment: an alternative newspaper; alternative lifestyles.

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

Also alternate (for defs 1–4, 6).

Origin of alternative

First recorded in 1580–90; alternate + -ive

Related formsal·ter·na·tive·ly, adverbal·ter·na·tive·ness, al·ter·na·tiv·i·ty, nounqua·si-al·ter·na·tive, adjectivequa·si-al·ter·na·tive·ly, adverb

Can be confusedalternate alternative

Synonyms for alternative

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR alternative ON THESAURUS.COM

1. option, selection.

Synonym study

1. See choice.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for alternative

different, opportunity, option, substitute, second, surrogate, selection, recourse, sub, redundancy, preference, pick, druthers, another, other

Examples from the Web for alternative

Contemporary Examples of alternative

It reminded me a bit of an alternative take on The Wolf of Wall Street—through the Toni and Candace lens.
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness
Marlow Stern
January 7, 2015
Already, 10 Republicans have declared they will vote for an alternative candidate and more seemed poised to join.
Kamikaze Congress Prepares to Strike Boehner
Ben Jacobs
January 6, 2015
And, if these alternative foods were indeed similar in food value to pine nuts, why are the bears not already wolfing them down?
What It Takes to Kill a Grizzly Bear
Doug Peacock
November 23, 2014
When I was growing up they called Green Day and Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins “alternative pop.”
The Rise of Jack Antonoff, the Taylor Swift Whisperer
Kevin Fallon
November 14, 2014
The first Bleachers single went to number one in alternative and all the shows have been sold out lately.
The Rise of Jack Antonoff, the Taylor Swift Whisperer
Kevin Fallon
November 14, 2014

Historical Examples of alternative

Master Headley did not like the alternative at all, and was a good deal perplexed.
The Armourer's Prentices
Charlotte M. Yonge
In the absence of overtures there was no alternative but to march on Paris.
Camps, Quarters and Casual Places
Archibald Forbes
An acceptance so direct left Clarence no alternative: his fate was decided.
Tales And Novels, Volume 3 (of 10)
Maria Edgeworth
There was no alternative now but to cross the barrens to Whale River on foot.
The Long Labrador Trail
Dillon Wallace
Henry Dunbar was resolute; and the young lawyer had no alternative.
Henry Dunbar
M. E. Braddon

British Dictionary definitions for alternative

alternative

noun

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

either of such choiceswe took the alternative of walking

adjective

presenting a choice, esp between two possibilities only

(of two things) mutually exclusive

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

logic another word for disjunctive (def. 3)

Derived Formsalternatively, adverbalternativeness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for alternative

adj.

1580s, "offering one or the other of two," from Medieval Latin alternativus, from Latin alternatus, past participle of alternare (see alternate (v.)). Meaning "purporting to be a superior choice to what is in general use" was current by 1970 (earliest reference is to the media); e.g. alternative energy (1975). Related: Alternatively.

1620s, in rhetoric, from Medieval Latin alternativus (see alternative (adj.)). Of courses of action, from 1814. Of objects, etc., "the other of two which may be chosen," by 1838.