otherwise

English

Alternative forms

• otherwize

Etymology

other +‎ -wise

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /ˈʌð.ə(ɹ)ˌwaɪz/, SAMPA: /"VD.@(r)%waIz/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Adverb

otherwise (not comparable)

1. (manner) Differently, in another way.

   You may be right, but I think otherwise.

   • 2011, Phil McNulty, Euro 2012: Montenegro 2-2 England [1]

     Fabio Capello insisted Rooney was in the right frame of mind to play in stormy Podgorica despite his father's arrest on Thursday in a probe into alleged betting irregularities, but his flash of temper - when he kicked out at Miodrag Dzudovic - suggested otherwise.

2. (conjunctive) In different circumstances.

   I’m not well today, otherwise I would have helped.

3. (conjunctive) In all other respects.

   He prayed to Neptune every day. Otherwise he behaved rationally.

4. Or else.

   You have to open your umbrella, otherwise you'll get wet.

Usage notes

• "Otherwise" is often used to refer to the negative of something. The something may be a noun phrase, a verb phrase, an adjective phrase, or an adverb phrase, or a clause, or even something larger.

Synonyms

• (differently): contrarily, contrastingly
• (in different circumstances): if not, else (See or else)
• (in all other respects): apart from that

Antonyms

• likewise

Translations

differently, in another way

Catalan: altrament (ca) Chinese: Mandarin: 反之 (cmn) (fǎnzhī) Czech: jinak (cs) Esperanto: alimaniere (eo) Finnish: toisin (fi) French: autrement (fr) German: anders (de) Greek: αλλιώς (el) (alliós)

Hindi: नहीं तो (hi) (nahī̃ to) Italian: differentemente (it) Japanese: 違う様に(chigau-yō-ni),そうではないと(sō-dewa-nai-to) Polish: inaczej Russian: иначе (ru) (ináče, ínače) Scottish Gaelic: a chaochladh (gd) Spanish: de otra manera (es) Swedish: annorlunda (sv)

under different circumstances

Chinese: Mandarin: 否則 (zh), 否则 (zh) (fǒuzé) Esperanto: alikaze (eo), aliokaze (eo) Finnish: muutoin (fi), muuten (fi) French: sinon (fr) German: ansonsten (de), sonst (de), andernfalls (de) Italian: in altre circostanze (it)

Japanese: さもなくば (ja) (samonakuba),そうでなければ(sō-de-nakereba) Kurdish: ئه‌گینا (ku) (egina) Portuguese: senão (pt) Russian: иначе (ru) (ináče, ínače) Scottish Gaelic: a chaochladh (gd) Spanish: si no (es), de lo contrario (es) Swedish: annars (sv), i annat fall (sv)

in all other respects

Arabic: عكس ذلك (ar) (3aks dhaalik) Chinese: Mandarin: 除此以外 (cmn) (chúcǐyǐwài), 除此之外 (cmn) (chúcǐzhīwài) Finnish: muutoin (fi), muuten (fi) French: sinon (fr), autrement (fr) German: ansonsten (de), sonst (de) Interlingua: alteremente (ia)

Italian: per altri aspetti (it), a parte ciò (it) Japanese: その他 (ja) (sono-hoka)は, 他の点では (ja) (hoka-no ten-dewa) Polish: poza tym Russian: в прочем (ru) (v próčem), в других отношениях (ru) (v drugíx otnošénijax) Scottish Gaelic: a chaochladh (gd) Spanish: por lo demás (es), por otra parte (es), aparte de esto (es) Swedish: annars (sv), i övrigt (sv)

or else — see or else

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

Dutch: anders

French: sinon, autrement

Adjective

otherwise (not comparable)

1. Other than supposed, different.

   He said he didn’t do it, but the evidence was otherwise.

Translations

other than supposed

Chinese: Mandarin: 矛盾的 (zh) (máodùn de)

Finnish: toisin (fi) Scottish Gaelic: a chaochladh (gd)