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alternative Definition

al·ter·na·tive (ôl tʉr′nə tiv, al-)

adjective

  1. providing or being a choice between two or among more than two things alternative routes
  2. designating or of an institution, enterprise, etc. that appeals to unconventional or nontraditional interests an alternative school

Etymology: ML alternativus: see alternate

noun

  1. a choice between two or among more than two things
  2. either or one of the things to be chosen
  3. something remaining to be chosen is there an alternative to going?

alternative Related Forms
al·ter′·na·tively adverb
alternative Synonyms

alternative

n.

  1. A choice between things

    option, choice, dilemma; see choice 1.

  2. A thing to be chosen

    option, choice, remaining choice, Plan B*; see option 1. See syn. study atchoice.

alternative Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • suggest: We will contact you at the earliest opportunity to suggest an alternative or refund.
  • offer: Online agencies offer a cheap alternative, charging £ 49 to £ 400 to advertize a home directly on a website.
  • consider: So many drugs the doctor can give you can have harmful side effects considering a natural alternative is often a better and popular option.
  • provide: Tresco provides a very special alternative to the famous London marathon.
  • propose: She declared herself to be opposed to the government's economic policies without proposing any real alternative.
  • seek: This timeless town with an interesting old cathedral offers a genteel option for those seeking a quieter alternative to the larger resorts.

Adjective modifier

  • viable: Up until now, there has been no viable alternative.
  • cheap: A cheaper alternative is to buy just the 3100 symbols on a CD from Crick Software at a cost of £ 90.
  • credible: Nexia provides a credible alternative to the " Big 4 " firms, rendering services to clients on a more personal and focused basis.
  • socialist: The campaign should also take up a class position and put forward a planned economy and a socialist alternative.
  • attractive: A notebook's portability makes it an attractive alternative to desktops: You can work where and when you need to.
  • realistic: DVD is the only realistic alternative to VHS that is widely acceptable to the industry.

Modifies a noun

  • route: An alternative route would be to have a company pension scheme owning the property.
  • arrangement: He will make costed proposals for two alternative arrangements.
  • therapy: Author Unknown A garden is the best alternative therapy.
  • medicine: What happened with alternative medicine was symptomatic of what happened in many areas of society at the same moment.
  • method: The alternative method of going public is to merge with a company that is already public.
  • approach: Alternative approaches do exist, particularly in human health.

Noun used with modifier

  • cash: The prizes cannot be modified and there are no cash alternatives.
  • gigabit: Free Space Optics offer gigabit alternatives for distribution around cities.
alternative Quotes

There is no easy popularity, in that I believe that people accept that there is no alternative.

—Thatcher, Margaret HildaThatcher, Baroness

I think in retrospect that all those 'alternative'modes of living were little more than exercises in arrested development.

—Self,Will

   What being a Christian means, at the very least, is that whenever there is a decision to be made, which may be several times a day, an alternative should not be discarded simply because it is sacrificial.

—Peck, M(organ) Scott

Life.Consider the alternative.

—McLuhan, (Herbert) Marshall