VocabauraVOCABAURA

alternatively

adverb

Simple meaning

Used to link a pair of opposing possibilities.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

awlturnuhtihvlee

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ɔlˈtɝnətɪvli

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

adverb

  1. In place of, or as an alternative to

  2. conjunctive

    Used to link a pair of opposing possibilities.

  3. In an alternative way

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B1 · Intermediate (estimated)
Frequency
Moderately Common
Typical Use
Neutral / general English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Word Aura is being prepared for this meaning.

Share your sentence

Write your own example sentence using “alternatively”. We review each one before it appears.

Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

  • alternativenounBase word

    One of a number of things from which only one can be chosen.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: in place of or or as an alternative to

Ask Vocabaura

Understand the word your way.

What Does It Mean Here?

Words can change meaning depending on context.

Use it yourself

Knowing “alternatively” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.

Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.