alternatively

American  

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

adverb

1. as another choice or option.

   At the end of the unit, each group of students writes a book review or, alternatively, acts out a short scene from the book.

2. in a nonstandard, novel, or unconventional manner or style.

   We found significant differences between the traditionally and alternatively certified teachers with regard to classroom experience.

   You are not automatically more creative just because you're in an alternatively decorated meeting room.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• quasi-alternatively
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of alternatively

alternative + -ly

Example Sentences

The law lets defendants pay a penalty and then contest the FCC’s findings in federal appellate court or, alternatively, wait for the Justice Department to enforce the penalty and challenge it in federal court.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 4, 2026

Or, alternatively, that they get a peek into a whole new world and learn about kids from different communities and backgrounds.

From Los Angeles Times • May 21, 2026

One almost gets a sense that the great doers of history were like robots, temporarily inhabited by an otherworldly spiritual force or, alternatively, were stick figures that Hegel moved about on his grandiose world-historical tableau.

From Salon • Mar. 28, 2026

Any new leader will have to calculate whether regime survival will be ensured by continuing to fight - or, alternatively, talking and effectively giving in to US demands.

From BBC • Mar. 2, 2026

But it would have been better to rewrite the sentence to convey the contrast from the start, using an unambiguous connective such as alternatively.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker

Related Words

• sooner
• willingly