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View synonyms for instead

instead

[ in-sted ]

adverb

  1. as a substitute or replacement; in the place or stead of someone or something:

    We ordered tea but were served coffee instead.

  2. in preference; as a preferred or accepted alternative:

    The city has its pleasures, but she wished instead for the quiet of country life.



instead

/ ɪnˈstɛd /

adverb

  1. as a replacement, substitute, or alternative
  2. instead of
    preposition in place of or as an alternative to
“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


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Word History and Origins

Origin of instead1

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English; originally phrase in stead “in place”
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Word History and Origins

Origin of instead1

C13: from phrase in stead in place
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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. instead of, in place of; in lieu of:

    You can use milk instead of cream in this recipe.

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Example Sentences

Forage isn’t selling an internship replacement, but instead comes in one degree before the recruitment process.

Major retailers like Walmart, Target, and Best Buy instead made the console available a few hours after Sony's game showcase on Wednesday.

A credible party, Microsoft, emerges, but instead, a non-consumer company, Oracle, whose top executives are tight with the president, becomes a prospective “technology partner,” but not a buyer, of TikTok.

From Fortune

Lincoln High, though, canceled calculus and put Zora Williams in a ceramics class instead.

There’s only one memory card instead of a pair, which makes sense for an entry-level camera, but isn’t ideal for anyone who might want to do some professional work with it.

Instead, straighten your civic backbone and push back in clear conscience.

Instead, the man and woman in the truck wanted to know where the crash site was and whether would I show them.

Instead, spa hotels filled up with over 30,000 refugees from the war-troubled Donbas region of eastern Ukraine.

But this year, instead of simply voting against Boehner on Tuesday, at least two members of the group are vying to replace him.

Instead, I spend much of my time criticizing my fellow atheists.

It was like his beautiful courtesy to call me in and introduce me to Blow instead of letting me go away.

Why he did that, instead of walking around on the shore, Jimmy Rabbit couldn't understand.

Instead of the expected general amnesty, only a few special pardons were granted.

We see the whole land, even if but at a distance, instead of being limited merely to the spot where our foot treads.

But, instead of following up their victory, the half-resolute rioters camped near Guadalupe for the night.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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