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

The alternative that doesn’t involve going short is shifting some of your equity portfolio into sectors of the stock market that nevertheless do well in Septembers of midterm election years.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026

They’re a liquid alternative asset, basically the closest thing you could get to a sparkly cartoon slot machine, where one lucky pull could mean hundreds of dollars in profit.

From Slate ● Aug. 31, 2026

However, this stereotype is being challenged by those who welcome an alternative crowd to events.

From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026

The IBM and University of Chicago team approached this verification problem by developing a more structured alternative to RCS.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 30, 2026

Weismann had proposed a radical alternative: perhaps hereditary information was contained exclusively in sperm and egg cells, with no direct mechanism for an acquired characteristic to be transmitted into sperm or eggs.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

The full research paper, "Mycotoxin contamination in plant-based beverages and meat alternatives: A survey of the UK market," is published in Food Control.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 28, 2026

Some families who objected to those policies helped fuel explicitly Christian scouting alternatives.

From Salon ● Aug. 28, 2026

Are there alternatives that Acme might accept in these circumstances?

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 27, 2026

At a city council meeting last fall, rail officials presented alternatives aimed at accelerating construction.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026

In any case, there were alternatives to the language of progress which served exactly the same purpose—the languages of invention and discovery.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

Related Words

• opportunity
• option
• substitute