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instead - 4 dictionary results

in⋅stead

  [in-sted]
Use instead in a Sentence
–adverb
1. as a substitute or replacement; in the place or stead of someone or something: We ordered tea but were served coffee instead.
2. in preference; as a preferred or accepted alternative: The city has its pleasures, but she wished instead for the quiet of country life.
—Idiom
3. instead of, in place of; in lieu of: You can use milk instead of cream in this recipe.
Origin:
1175–1225; ME; orig. phrase in stead in place
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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in·stead   (ĭn-stěd')   
adv.  
  1. In the place of something previously mentioned; as a substitute or an equivalent: Having planned to drive, we walked instead.
  2. In preference; as an alternative: yearned instead for a home and family.

[Middle English in sted of, in place of : in, in; see in1 + stede, place; see stead + of, of; see of.]
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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Instead

In*stead"\, adv. [Pref. in- + stead place.]

1. In the place or room; -- usually followed by of.

Let thistles grow of wheat. --Job xxxi. 40.

Absalom made Amasa captain of the host instead of Joab. --2 Sam. xvii. 25.

2. Equivalent; equal to; -- usually with of. [R.]

This very consideration to a wise man is instead of a thousand arguments, to satisfy him, that in those times no such thing was believed. --Tillotson.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : instead
Spanish: en su lugar, en cambio,
German: statt dessen,
Japanese: その代わり
More Translations »

instead 
1595, from M.E. ine stede (c.1225, see stead); still often two words until after c.1640. A loan-translation of L. in loco (Fr. en lieu de).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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