alternative
See also: Alternative
English
Etymology
From Middle French alternatif, from Medieval Latin alternātīvus (“alternating”), from the participle stem of Latin alternō (“interchange, alternate”). Compare alternate.
Pronunciation
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- Lua error in Module:parameters at line 360: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "US" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E. IPA(key): /ɔl.ˈtɝ.nə.tɪv/
- Lua error in Module:parameters at line 360: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "cot–caught merger" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E. IPA(key): /ɑl.ˈtɝ.nə.tɪv/
Audio (US): (file)
Adjective
alternative (not comparable)
- Relating to a choice between two or more possibilities.
- an alternative proposition
- (linguistics) Presenting two or more alternatives.
- Synonym: disjunctive
- alternative conjunctions like or
- Other; different from something else.
- Not traditional, outside the mainstream, underground.
- (obsolete) Alternate, reciprocal.
- Lua error in Module:quote at line 2568: Unrecognized value 'translation' for type=; possible values are book,journal
Derived terms
- alternative algebra
- alternative country
- alternative dispute resolution
- alternative energy
- alternative fact
- alternative fuel
- alternative hip hop
- alternative hip-hop
- alternative history
- alternative hypothesis
- alternative investment
- alternative investment fund
- alternative left
- alternative liability
- alternative lifestyle
- alternative medicine
- alternative metal
- alternative music
- alternative press
- alternative right
- alternative RNA splicing
- alternative rock
- alternative universe
- alternative vote
Related terms
Translations
relating to a choice
|
(linguistics) presenting two or more alternatives
|
other
|
not traditional, outside the mainstream, underground
|
Noun
alternative (plural alternatives)
- A situation which allows a mutually exclusive choice between two or more possibilities; a choice between two or more possibilities. [from 17th c.]
- 1817 December 31 (indicated as 1818), [Walter Scott], Rob Roy. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for Archibald Constable and Co. […]; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, →OCLC:
- ‘The cloister or a betrothed husband?’ I echoed—‘Is that the alternative destined for Miss Vernon?’
- One of several mutually exclusive things which can be chosen. [from 17th c.]
- 1803, Chief Justice John Marshall, Marbury v. Madison[2]:
- Between these alternatives there is no middle ground. The Constitution is either a superior, paramount law, unchangeable by ordinary means, or it is on a level with ordinary legislative acts, and, like other acts, is alterable when the legislature shall please to alter it.
- 1803, Chief Justice John Marshall, Marbury v. Madison[2]:
- The remaining option; something available after other possibilities have been exhausted. [from 18th c.]
- (uncountable, music) alternative rock
- 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.
Synonyms
- See also Thesaurus:option
Antonyms
Translations
a situation which allows a choice between two or more possibilities
|
one of several things which can be chosen
|
See also
References
- “alternative”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “alternative”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
Esperanto
Pronunciation
Adverb
alternative
French
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /al.tɛʁ.na.tiv/
Audio: (file) - Homophone: alternatives
Adjective
alternative
Noun
alternative f (plural alternatives)
Further reading
- “alternative”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
German
Pronunciation
Audio: (file)
Adjective
alternative
- inflection of alternativ:
Italian
Pronunciation
Adjective
alternative
Noun
alternative f
Anagrams
Latin
Pronunciation
- (Classical Latin) IPA(key): /al.ter.naːˈtiː.u̯e/, [äɫ̪t̪ɛrnäːˈt̪iːu̯ɛ]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /al.ter.naˈti.ve/, [äl̪t̪ernäˈt̪iːve]
Adjective
(deprecated template usage) alternātīve
Norwegian Bokmål
Adjective
alternative
- inflection of alternativ:
Norwegian Nynorsk
Adjective
alternative
- inflection of alternativ:
Swedish
Adjective
alternative
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