Alternative

English

Noun

Alternative (plural Alternatives)

1. A situation which allows a mutually exclusive choice between two or more possibilities.
2. A choice between two or more mutually exclusive possibilities.
3. One of several mutually exclusive things which can be chosen.

Adjective

Alternative (not comparable)

1. Relating to a choice between two or more possibilities
2. Not traditional (an alternative lifestyle)
3. Other

Adjectives for Alternative

gainful; pleasant; admirable; desperate; intolerable; unthinkable; dire; impossible; practicable; subtle; ghastly; grim; vague; contradictory; undesirable; inescapable; serious.

Verbs for Alternative

arrive at; bewilder with; conceive; confront with; countenance; endorse; explore; extend; mystify by; propose; reject; request; suggest; circumscribes; curbs; lies open; limits; puzzles; remains

Synonyms for Alternative

option, preference, choice, pick, election.

Antonyms for Alternative

compulsion, obligation.

Thesaurus

additional; agent; alternate; alternate choice; analogy; another; attainable; backup; change; changeling; choice; comparison; contingency; copy; counterfeit; deputy; different; discretion; discretional; disjunctive; double; druthers; dummy; election; elective; equal; equivalent; ersatz; escape clause; escape hatch; exchange; exchangeable; fake; fill-in; ghost; ghostwriter; imitation; interchangeable; locum tenens; loophole; makeshift; metaphor; metonymy; mock; next best thing; option; optional; optionality; personnel; phony; pinch; pinch hitter; pleasure; possibility; possible choice; preference; pretext; provisional; proxy; relief; replacement; replacing; representative; reserve; reserves; ringer; saving clause; second string; secondary; selection; sign; spare; spares; stand-in; stopgap; sub; substituent; substitute; substitution; succedaneum; superseder; supplanter; surrogate; symbol; synecdoche; temporary; tentative; third string; token; understudy; utility; utility player; variant; vicar; vicarious; vice-president; vice-regent; volitional; voluntary; way of escape; way out; will and pleasure

Pronunciation

• enPR: ăl-tûr'nə-tĭv, IPA: /ɒltɜːnətiv/, SAMPA: /Al"t@`n@tIv/

• Audio (US)

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Derived terms

• alternative dispute resolution
• alternative energy
• alternative lifestyle
• alternative medicine
• alternative vote

Related terms

• alternate
• alternativeness
• alternativism

See also

• variant