alternative
/ɔlˈtɝ.nə.tɪv/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: 4.71 in modern English
14
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
4
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Relating to a choice between two or more possibilities.
adj
Relating to a choice between two or more possibilities.
adj
Other; different from something else.
adj
Not traditional, outside the mainstream, underground.
noun
A situation which allows a mutually exclusive choice between two or more possibilities; a choice between two or more possibilities.
noun
One of several mutually exclusive things which can be chosen.
Example Sentences
- "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."
- "alternative conjunctions like or"
- "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."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-der. 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-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu. Proto-Italic *-ājō 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.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: alternatif, alternātīvus, alternō
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ɔlˈtɝ.nə.tɪv/
- British English: /ɒlˈtɜː.nə.tɪv/