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Alternative
Definitions
- 1 Relating to a choice between two or more possibilities. not-comparable
"an alternative proposition"
- 2 Relating to a choice between two or more possibilities.; Presenting two or more alternatives. not-comparable
"alternative conjunctions like or"
- 3 Other; different from something else. not-comparable
- 4 Not traditional, outside the mainstream, underground. not-comparable
"alternative medicine; alternative lifestyle; alternative rock"
- 5 Alternate, reciprocal. not-comparable, obsolete
"He [the Sun] it is that giveth light to all things, and riddeth them from darkneſſe : hee hideth the other ſtarres, and ſheweth them againe : he ordereth the ſeaſons in their alternative courſe : he tempereth the yeere, ariſing ever freſh and new againe, for the benefite and good of the world."
- 1 necessitating a choice between mutually exclusive possibilities wordnet
- 2 pertaining to unconventional choices wordnet
- 3 serving or used in place of another wordnet
- 1 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?”"
- 2 one of a number of things from which only one can be chosen wordnet
- 3 One of several mutually exclusive things which can be chosen.
"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."
- 4 The remaining option; something available after other possibilities have been exhausted.
- 5 alternative rock uncountable
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- 6 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."
Etymology
From Middle French alternatif, from Medieval Latin alternātīvus (“alternating”), from the participle stem of Latin alternō (“interchange, alternate”). Compare alternate.
From Middle French alternatif, from Medieval Latin alternātīvus (“alternating”), from the participle stem of Latin alternō (“interchange, alternate”). Compare alternate.
See also for "alternative"
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