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alternative - 7 dictionary results
al⋅ter⋅na⋅tive
[awl-tur-nuh-tiv, al-] 
nə
–noun
| 1. | a choice limited to one of two or more possibilities, as of things, propositions, or courses of action, the selection of which precludes any other possibility: You have the alternative of riding or walking. |
| 2. | one of the things, propositions, or courses of action that can be chosen: The alternative to riding is walking. |
| 3. | a possible or remaining course or choice: There was no alternative but to walk. |
–adjective
| 4. | affording a choice of two or more things, propositions, or courses of action. |
| 5. | (of two things, propositions, or courses) mutually exclusive so that if one is chosen the other must be rejected: The alternative possibilities are neutrality and war. |
| 6. | employing or following nontraditional or unconventional ideas, methods, etc.; existing outside the establishment: an alternative newspaper; alternative lifestyles. |
| 7. | Logic. (of a proposition) asserting two or more choices, at least one of which is true. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To alternative
| al·ter·na·tive (ôl-tûr'nə-tĭv, āl-) n.
Usage Note: Some traditionalists hold that alternative should be used only in situations where the number of choices involved is exactly two, because of the word's historical relation to Latin alter, "the other of two." Despite the word's longstanding use to mean "one of a number of things from which only one can be chosen" and the acceptance of this usage by many language critics, a substantial portion of the Usage Panel adheres to the traditional view, with only 49 percent accepting the sentence Of the three alternatives, the first is the least distasteful. · Alternative is also sometimes used to refer to a variant or substitute in cases where there is no element of choice involved, as in We will do our best to secure alternative employment for employees displaced by the closing of the factory. This sentence is unacceptable to 60 percent of the Usage Panel. · Alternative should not be confused with alternate. Correct usage requires The class will meet on alternate (not alternative) Tuesdays. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Alternative
Al*ter"na*tive\, a. [Cf. F. alternatif.]1. Offering a choice of two things. 2. Disjunctive; as, an alternative conjunction. 3. Alternate; reciprocal. [Obs.] --Holland.Alternative
Al*ter"na*tive\, n. [Cf. F. alternative, LL. alternativa.]1. An offer of two things, one of which may be chosen, but not both; a choice between two things, so that if one is taken, the other must be left. There is something else than the mere alternative of absolute destruction or unreformed existence. --Burke. 2. Either of two things or propositions offered to one's choice. Thus when two things offer a choice of one only, the two things are called alternatives. Having to choose between two alternatives, safety and war, you obstinately prefer the worse. --Jowett (Thucyd.). 3. The course of action or the thing offered in place of another. If this demand is refused the alternative is war. --Lewis. With no alternative but death. --Longfellow. 4. A choice between more than two things; one of several things offered to choose among. My decided preference is for the fourth and last of these alternatives. --Gladstone.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : alternative
Spanish:
alternativo,
German:
alternativ,
Japanese:
代りの
Main Entry: 1al·ter·na·tive
Pronunciation: ol-'t&r-n&-tiv, al-
Function: adjective
1 : ALTERNATE 1
2 : offering or expressing a choice
3 : existing or functioning outside the established system; also : different from the usual or conventional <alternative sentencing>
Main Entry: 2alternative
Function: noun
1 : a proposition or situation offering a choice between two or more things only one of which may be chosen
2 a : one of two or more things, courses, or propositions to be chosen b : something which can be chosen instead—in the alternative 1 : for or as an alternative
2 : in such a way that offers a choice
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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alternative
pop music style, built on distorted guitars and rooted in generational discontent, that dominated and changed rock between 1991 and 1996. It burst into the mainstream when "Smells Like Teen Spirit"-the first major-label single from Nirvana, a trio based in Seattle, Washington, U.S.-became a national hit. Suddenly, older, difficult, and even anarchic movements, as well as a previous decade of do-it-yourself college rock, acquired a flashy beachhead on pop radio.
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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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