otherwise

1. 1
   or elseadverb

   Used to introduce what would happen in a different case, or if a particular thing is not done; or else.

   Submit the form by Friday; otherwise your application won't be considered.

   He must have left early, otherwise we'd have seen him at the meeting.

   Note

   A connective that points to the road not taken, so the clause after it is usually hypothetical: you'll get wet, I would have helped. The American novelist Winston Churchill's The Celebrity (1897) pairs it with or ("or otherwise his man would be there"), a doubling that still survives in speech.

2. 2
   the other wayadverb

   In another way; differently from what is stated, expected, or assumed.

   The committee ruled otherwise, rejecting the original proposal.

   We hoped for sunshine, but the forecast suggested otherwise.

   UsageUsually after verbs of thinking or acting: think otherwise, decide otherwise, suggest otherwise.

   Similardifferently

   Oppositelikewise, similarly

   Note

   In a phrase like sell or otherwise distribute, it gathers a list under one roof and means "by any other means".

3. 3
   adverb

   Apart from the point just mentioned; in every other respect.

   The report contained one error but was otherwise accurate.

   Aside from the noisy neighbors, the apartment was otherwise ideal.

   UsageOften before an adjective, as in an otherwise perfect day, or after the exception: a bit salty, but otherwise fine.

   Note

   Here the word sets one exception aside and vouches for everything else. Unlike the "or else" meaning, it does not point to a different case: "Otherwise he behaved rationally."

4. 4
   adjective

   Different from what was assumed or supposed to be the case.

   Reports described the region as peaceful, but conditions on the ground were otherwise.

   She presented herself as confident, though her true feelings were quite otherwise.

   UsageUsually after be, not before a noun: the facts were otherwise; also in pairs like political and otherwise.

   Similardifferent

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