alternative
Part of speech: adj
noun
Morphological type: derivation
Topics: entertainment
human-sciences
lifestyle
linguistics
music
sciences
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.
Inflected forms:
form: alternatives
pos: noun
tags: plural
Senses:
gloss: Relating to a choice between two or more possibilities.
pos: adj
tags: not-comparable
examples: an alternative proposition
There are two alternative theories as to why this phenomenon occurs.
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.
gloss: Relating to a choice between two or more possibilities.
pos: adj
tags: not-comparable
examples: alternative conjunctions like or
gloss: Other; different from something else.
pos: adj
tags: not-comparable
examples: 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.
gloss: Not traditional, outside the mainstream, underground.
pos: adj
tags: not-comparable
examples: alternative medicine; alternative lifestyle; alternative rock
gloss: Alternate, reciprocal.
pos: adj
tags: not-comparable
obsolete
examples: 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.
gloss: A situation which allows a mutually exclusive choice between two or more possibilities; a choice between two or more possibilities.
pos: noun
examples: I gave you the alternative; you decided to stay.
“The cloister or a betrothed husband?” I echoed—“Is that the alternative destined for Miss Vernon?”
gloss: One of several mutually exclusive things which can be chosen.
pos: noun
examples: 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.
gloss: The remaining option; something available after other possibilities have been exhausted.
pos: noun
gloss: alternative rock
pos: noun
tags: uncountable
gloss: A non-offensive word or phrase that serves as a replacement for a word deemed offensive or unacceptable, though not as a euphemism.
pos: noun
examples: 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: Synonyms: see Thesaurus:option
Antonyms: different
opposing
Related words: alternate
alternativeness
alternativism
variant
Derived words: 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
alternative timeline
alternative tourism
alternative universe
alternative vote
alternativist
alternativity
altlang
coalternative
dark alternative scene
mallternative
malternative
multialternative
nonalternative
unalternative
adult album alternative
adult alternative
Translations:
lang: Armenian
word: այլընտրանքային
roman: ayləntrankʻayin
lang: Belarusian
word: альтэрнаты́ўны
roman: alʹternatýwny
lang: Bulgarian
word: алтернати́вен
roman: alternatíven
lang: Bulgarian
word: друга възможност
roman: druga vǎzmóžnost
lang: Bulgarian
word: или-или
roman: ili ili
lang: Catalan
word: alternatiu
lang: Chinese Mandarin
word: 選項 /选项
roman: xuǎnxiàng
lang: Czech
word: alternativní
lang: Danish
word: alternativ
lang: Dutch
word: alternatief
lang: Esperanto
word: anstataŭa
lang: Finnish
word: vaihtoehtoinen
lang: French
word: alternatif
lang: Galician
word: alternativo
lang: German
word: alternativ
lang: Greek
word: εναλλακτικός
roman: enallaktikós
lang: Greek
word: προαιρετικός
roman: proairetikós
lang: Hindi
word: वैकल्पिक
roman: vaikalpik
lang: Hungarian
word: vagylagos
lang: Italian
word: alternativo
lang: Kazakh
word: балама
roman: balama
lang: Malay
word: alternatif
lang: Malayalam
word: ബദൽ
roman: badal
lang: Malayalam
word: പകരം
roman: pakaraṁ
lang: Mirandese
word: alternatibo
lang: Norwegian
word: alternativ
lang: Polish
word: alternatywny
lang: Portuguese
word: alternativo
lang: Russian
word: альтернати́вный
roman: alʹternatívnyj
lang: Serbo-Croatian
word: а̏лтернатӣван
lang: Serbo-Croatian
word: ȁlternatīvan
lang: Slovak
word: alternatívny
lang: Spanish
word: alternativo
lang: Swedish
word: alternativ
lang: Telugu
word: ప్రత్యామ్నాయం
roman: pratyāmnāyaṁ
lang: Ukrainian
word: альтернати́вний
roman: alʹternatývnyj