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Alternative   /ɔltˈərnətɪv/   Listen
adjective
Alternative  adj.  
1.
Offering a choice of two things.
2.
Disjunctive; as, an alternative conjunction.
3.
Alternate; reciprocal. (Obs.)


noun
Alternative  n.  
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."
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."
3.
The course of action or the thing offered in place of another. "If this demand is refused the alternative is war." "With no alternative but death."
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."





Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48


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"Alternative" Quotes from Famous Books



... horn. In an essay like the present (first intended as a paper to be read before the Royal Society) one cannot be too exact; and I will concede that my theory of the gradual vire-scence of our satellite is to be regarded rather as an alternative theory than as a law finally demonstrated and universally accepted by the scientific world. It is a hypothesis that holds the field, as the scientists say of a theory when there is no evidence for ...
— Alarms and Discursions • G. K. Chesterton
... The alternative lay between the entire suppression of the work for an indefinite period, and the publication of by far the larger portion of it with the omission of a few passages which touched too nearly on our contemporaries. Upon the whole, the latter ...
— The Greville Memoirs (Second Part) - A Journal of the Reign of Queen Victoria from 1837 to 1852 - (Volume 1 of 3) • Charles C. F. Greville
... he had no alternative but Paris, although it was several weeks ahead of his schedule. As a matter of fact, it was several weeks too early. The city was not quite ready for him. The trees in the Champs Elysees were in much the condition of a lady half an hour before an expected caller. The broad vista to the triumphal ...
— The Triflers • Frederick Orin Bartlett
... So as an alternative I decided to enroll for membership at a gymnasium where I could have company at my exercising and make a sport of what otherwise would be in the nature of a punishment. This I did. With a group of ...
— One Third Off • Irvin S. Cobb
... simultaneously her mainmast went by the board, she began to fill and settle down, and soon became a forlorn wreck. A short consultation was held between the officers and men as to what was best to be done. There was, however, no alternative but to take to the boats, and make the best effort possible to save life. There was no time to lose. Five boats were quickly launched, and manned, and supplied with such provisions and water as could be procured in the hurry of the moment. An officer took command of each boat, and Tite managed ...
— The Von Toodleburgs - Or, The History of a Very Distinguished Family • F. Colburn Adams


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