alternative

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: B2 — Upper-Intermediate

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun one of a number of things from which only one can be chosen
  2. adjective serving or used in place of another
  3. adjective necessitating a choice between mutually exclusive possibilities

Etymology

From Middle French alternatif, from Medieval Latin alternātīvus (“alternating”), from the participle stem of Latin alternō (“interchange, alternate”). By surface analysis, alternate + -ive. Compare alternate.

In classic literature

Synonyms

option, choice

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