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View synonyms for otherwise

otherwise

[ uhth-er-wahyz ]

adverb

  1. under other circumstances:

    Otherwise they may get broken.

  2. in another manner; differently:

    Under the circumstances, I can't believe otherwise.

  3. in other respects:

    an otherwise happy life.



conjunction

  1. or else; if not:

    Button up your overcoat, otherwise you'll catch cold.

adjective

  1. other or different; of another nature or kind:

    We hoped his behavior would be otherwise.

  2. in other or different circumstances:

    An otherwise pleasure had become a grinding chore.

otherwise

/ ˈʌðəˌwaɪz /

sentence connector

  1. or else; if not, then

    go home — otherwise your mother will worry

“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


adverb

  1. differently

    I wouldn't have thought otherwise

  2. in other respects

    an otherwise hopeless situation

“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

adjective

  1. predicative of an unexpected nature; different

    the facts are otherwise

“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

pronoun

  1. something different in outcome

    success or otherwise

“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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Usage

The expression otherwise than means in any other way than and should not be followed by an adjective: no-one taught by this method can be other than (not otherwise than ) successful; you are not allowed to use the building otherwise than as a private dwelling
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Word History and Origins

Origin of otherwise1

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English (on) ōthre wīsan “(in) another manner”; equivalent to other + -wise
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Word History and Origins

Origin of otherwise1

C14: from Old English on ōthre wīsan in other manner
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Example Sentences

Placed in drinking water, fluoride can serve people who otherwise have poor access to dental care.

If someone wants to ensure a direct and secure connection, no entity, whether a hotel or otherwise, should be able to block it.

Larson, as usual, instills gravitas and agency in an otherwise underwritten character.

Millennials—rich or otherwise—have been notoriously uninterested in politics.

Otherwise, we will be but celebrating an empty holiday, missing its true meaning altogether.

The Majesty on high has a colony and a people on earth, which otherwise is under the supremacy of the Evil One.

That is the only point in which one sees Liszt's sense of his own greatness; otherwise his manner is remarkably unassuming.

Rather late that evening we administered extreme unction to him, for otherwise he was sufficiently prepared for it.

It rather annoyed her than otherwise, but her husband was pleased, and that was enough for Georgie.

Otherwise, a child's box of tin soldiers sent by post would have been just the thing for the Dardanelles landing!

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