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alternative

adj
/ɒlˈtɜː.nə.tɪv/UK/ɔːlˈtɜː.nə.tɪv//ɔlˈtɝ.nə.tɪv/US

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- Proto-Indo-European *h₂élyos Proto-Italic *aljos Proto-Indo-European *-teros Proto-Italic *-teros Proto-Italic *aliteros Latin alter Proto-Indo-European *-nós Proto-Italic *-nos Latin -nus Latin alternus Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -ō Latin alternō Latin alternātus Proto-Indo-European *-wós Proto-Indo-European *-iHwósder. Latin -īvus Latin alternātīvusder. Middle French alternatifbor. English alternative From Middle French alternatif, from Medieval Latin alternātīvus (“alternating”), from the participle stem of Latin alternō (“interchange, alternate”). By surface analysis, alternate + -ive. Compare alternate.

  1. derived from alternō — “interchange, alternate”
  2. derived from alternātīvus — “alternating”
  3. borrowed from alternatif

Definitions

  1. Relating to a choice between two or more possibilities.

    • an alternative proposition
    • Reason would seem to dictate that it was an alternative offer,—either to receive $15,000 if the grantor perform the condition or $12,000 if he did not perform the condition.
    • Who is right, Augusto or Unamuno? In general critics have seen this confrontation as offering an alternative choice: either we are free or we are predetermined.

  2. Other

    Other; different from something else.

    • Exploring alternative realities isn't just a game for boys. In 1666, Margaret Cavendish, the Duchess of Newcastle, published a utopian fantasy of compelling strangeness.

  3. Not traditional, outside the mainstream, underground.

    • alternative medicine; alternative lifestyle; alternative rock
  4. ›+ 6 more definitions

    1. Alternate, reciprocal.

    2. A situation which allows a mutually exclusive choice between two or more possibilities

      A situation which allows a mutually exclusive choice between two or more possibilities; a choice between two or more possibilities.

      • “The cloister or a betrothed husband?” I echoed—“Is that the alternative destined for Miss Vernon?”

    3. One of several mutually exclusive things which can be chosen.

    4. The remaining option

      The remaining option; something available after other possibilities have been exhausted.

    5. alternative rock

    6. A non-offensive word or phrase that serves as a replacement for a word deemed offensive…

      A non-offensive word or phrase that serves as a replacement for a word deemed offensive or unacceptable, though not as a euphemism.

      • Disability activists discourage the use of the words "crazy" and "insane" due to their negative connections to mental health, suggesting alternatives such as "wild", "silly", or "out of this world", which do not relate to mental health.

The neighborhood

Derived

alternapop, alternarock, alternateen, alternative algebra, alternative archaeology, alternative beta, alternative brit, alternative cannabinoid, alternative country, alternative denial, alternative dispute resolution, alternative energy, alternative episcopal oversight, alternative fact, alternative fashion, alternative fertilization, alternative fuel, alternative fund, alternative hip hop, alternative hip-hop, alternative historian, alternative history, alternative hypothesis, alternative investment, alternative investment fund, alternative left, alternative liability, alternative lifestyle, alternative medicine, alternative metal, alternative minimum tax, alternative music, alternative pop, alternative press, alternative provision, alternative right, alternative RNA splicing, alternative rock, alternative school, alternative service · +16 more

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for alternative. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA