alternative
Pluralalternatives
Often confused with alternate
Pluralalternatives
- 1One of two or more possibilities that can be chosen instead of another, including the one left when others are ruled out.
Renting a car seemed a reasonable alternative to buying one.
The board reviewed several alternatives before approving the merger.
UsageUsually an alternative to something: tea is a good alternative to coffee. Set phrase: have no alternative but to leave.
Similaroption, choice, substitute, possibility
Note
Chief Justice John Marshall uses this sense in Marbury v. Madison (1803): "Between these alternatives there is no middle ground." In his argument, the Constitution is either paramount law or alterable like ordinary acts. That phrase states the defining condition of this sense, which is that choosing one option excludes the others.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- Marbury v. Madison dates to 1803. archives.gov
- Chief Justice John Marshall used the quoted words in his opinion in Marbury v. Madison. archives.gov
- Marshall presents the Constitution as either paramount law or alterable like ordinary legislative acts. archives.gov
- 2Other than the usual; different from something else.
The committee proposed an alternative plan when the first one failed.
The bridge was closed for repairs, so we followed signs for an alternative route into town.
UsageAlternate can also mean alternative, especially in American English. However, alternate days means every other day, not alternative days.
- 3Outside the mainstream; not traditional or conventional, often deliberately underground.
The café had an alternative vibe, full of local art and mismatched furniture.
The zine covered alternative fashion that never reached the major retail stores.
UsageCommon in fixed pairs: alternative medicine, alternative lifestyle, alternative rock.
Similarunconventional, underground, unorthodox, nonconformist
Oppositemainstream, conventional, traditional
Note
A countercultural adjective that does its work in fixed pairings: alternative medicine, alternative lifestyle, alternative rock. In each, it implies something chosen against an established default rather than simply "different." One of these pairings became so familiar that it shed its noun, giving the name of the music genre.
- 4A broad genre of rock music that grew out of the independent underground of the late 1970s and 1980s, set apart from mainstream pop and rock.
The radio station plays nothing but alternative after midnight.
Back in the nineties, alternative briefly dominated the charts.
Note
The label covered a loose cluster of styles from 1980s independent labels and college radio, including grunge, indie rock and post-punk. What held it together was a stance against commercial mainstream rock more than any single sound.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- The genre developed through the independent-label and college-radio scene of the 1980s. en.wikipedia.org
- The alternative label encompassed grunge, indie rock and post-punk. en.wikipedia.org
- Opposition to mainstream rock, rather than a uniform sound, connected alternative bands. en.wikipedia.org
- 5Offering or concerning a choice between two or more possibilities, as in an alternative question.
The court read it as an alternative offer: one price if the condition was met, another if not.
The proposal laid out alternative courses, leaving the final pick to members.
Note
In this sense the adjective marks something framed as an either/or. A 1911 law review report of Phillips v. Rohrer reads "an alternative offer" as either $15,000 or $12,000, depending on a condition.
Less common meanings
- 6A situation that forces a mutually exclusive choice between two or more possibilities.
Voters were left with a stark alternative: accept the deal or reject it outright.
The negotiators faced a difficult alternative between compromise and collapse.
Note
Here the noun names the dilemma as a whole, not either of its options. In Walter Scott's Rob Roy (1817), "The cloister or a betrothed husband?" is the alternative, a single choice made of two paths.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- Walter Scott wrote Rob Roy. gutenberg.org
- Rob Roy was first published in 1817, although its first-edition title page was dated 1818. walterscott.lib.ed.ac.uk
- The quotation is exact and describes the whole choice between two possibilities. The speaker is the narrator, Frank Osbaldistone. gutenberg.org
- 7Alternate or reciprocal; occurring by turns or done in return.
Note
A use that keeps closest to the Latin "alternating" behind the either/or adjective. It describes things that take turns. Philemon Holland's 1601 translation of Pliny has the Sun ordering "the seasons in their alternative course."
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 5 facts
- The word's Latin ancestor means 'alternating'. en.wiktionary.org
- Alternative historically meant alternate or reciprocal. en.wiktionary.org
- Philemon Holland translated Pliny's Natural History into English. penelope.uchicago.edu
- Holland's translation was first published in 1601. collections.soane.org
- The translation describes the Sun ordering 'the seasons in their alternative course'. penelope.uchicago.edu
Showing meanings only.
Practice
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Origin
Latin alternō ("to interchange, alternate") gave Medieval Latin alternātīvus ("alternating"), and from that came Middle French alternatif, the source of the English word.