Difference Wiki

Alternate vs. Alternative

The main difference between Alternate and Alternative is that the word Alternate is a thing or a person serving in place of another, whereas an Alternative is such a second option that does not replace the first.

Key Differences

The word ‘alternate’ originated from a Latin word ‘alternus’ meaning to take turns; on the other hand, the word ‘alternate’ originated from the same word.
An alternate is a thing, place, or person serving in place of another, whereas an alternative is a second or another option that does not replace the first.
The word ‘alternate’ comes directly from Latin; on the flip side, the word ‘alternative’ comes through French translating into the meaning ‘different.’
As an adjective alternate means “(of days) every other, (of time) every second or “a thing followed by the other in a regular pattern.” Contrarily as an adjective, it means “the possibility or availability of another choice.”
Harlon Moss
Jan 13, 2021
The pronunciation of alternate is /ɔːltəneɪt/ or /ɒltəneɪt/; on the contrary, the pronunciation of alternative is /ɔːlˈtəːnətɪv/ or /ɒlˈtəːnətɪv/.
Aimie Carlson
Jan 13, 2021
The word alternate is an adjective, a noun, and a verb; conversely, the word alternative is an adjective as well as a noun.
Aimie Carlson
Jan 13, 2021
ADVERTISEMENT
The total number of letters in alternate is nine; on the converse, the letters that alternative contains are eleven.
Harlon Moss
Jan 13, 2021
As a noun, alternate means “two or many possibilities that are available”; inversely, alternative refers to a person acting as a deputy or substitute as a noun.
Harlon Moss
Jan 13, 2021

Comparison Chart

.

“A thing or a person serving in place of another is alternate.”
“Such a second option which does not replace the first is alternative.”

Number of Letters

Nine
Eleven

Pronunciation

/ɔːltəneɪt/ or /ɒltəneɪt/
/ɔːlˈtəːnətɪv/ or /ɒlˈtəːnətɪv/.

Parts of Speech

Adjective, noun, verb
Adjective, noun
Aimie Carlson
Jan 13, 2021
ADVERTISEMENT

Origin

From Latin
From Latin via French
Janet White
Jan 13, 2021

Alternate and Alternative Definitions

Alternate

To occur in a successive manner
Day alternating with night.

Alternative

One of a number of possible choices or courses of action
There are plenty of alternatives to conventional advertising.

Alternate

To act or proceed by turns
The students alternated at the computer.

Alternative

A choice or course of action that is mutually exclusive with another
The alternative to staying in that dead-end job is to quit.

Alternate

To pass back and forth from one state, action, or place to another
Alternated between happiness and depression.
ADVERTISEMENT

Alternative

A situation presenting a choice between two mutually exclusive possibilities
People facing the alternative of selling their homes or going bankrupt.

Alternate

(Electricity) To reverse direction at regular intervals in a circuit.

Alternative

Being one of a number of possible choices or courses of action
The highway is closed. Seek alternative routes.

Alternate

To do or execute by turns.

Alternative

Being one of two mutually exclusive choices or courses of action
How effective is the alternative treatment?.

Alternate

To cause to alternate
Alternated light and dark squares to form a pattern.

Alternative

Substitute or other
Several members of the audience provided alternative views on the topic.

Alternate

Happening or following in turns; succeeding each other continuously
Alternate seasons of the year.

Alternative

Existing outside traditional or established institutions or systems
An alternative lifestyle.
Alternative energy.

Alternate

Designating or relating to every other one of a series
Alternate lines.

Alternative

Espousing or reflecting values that are different from those of the establishment or mainstream
An alternative newspaper.

Alternate

Serving or used in place of another; substitute
An alternate plan. See Usage Note at alternative.

Alternative

Relating to a choice between two or more possibilities.

Alternate

Arranged singly at each node, as leaves or buds on different sides of a stem.

Alternative

(linguistics) Presenting two or more alternatives.
Alternative conjunctions like or

Alternate

Arranged regularly between other parts, as stamens between petals.

Alternative

Other; different from something else.

Alternate

A person acting in the place of another; a substitute.

Alternative

Not traditional, outside the mainstream, underground.

Alternate

An alternative.

Alternative

(obsolete) Alternate, reciprocal.

Alternate

Happening by turns; one following the other in succession of time or place; first one and then the other (repeatedly)
Alternate picking is a guitar playing technique.

Alternative

A situation which allows a mutually exclusive choice between two or more possibilities; a choice between two or more possibilities.

Alternate

(mathematics) Designating the members in a series, which regularly intervene between the members of another series, as the odd or even numbers of the numerals; every other; every second.
The alternate members 1, 3, 5, 7, etc.

Alternative

One of several mutually exclusive things which can be chosen.

Alternate

(US) Other; alternative.
Hyperlinked text is displayed in alternate color in a Web browser.
He lives in an alternate universe and an alternate reality.

Alternative

The remaining option; something available after other possibilities have been exhausted.

Alternate

Distributed singly at different heights of the stem, and at equal intervals as respects angular divergence

Alternative

A non-offensive word or phrase that serves as a replacement for a word deemed offensive or unacceptable, though not as a euphemism.
Disability activists discourage the use of the words "crazy" and "insane" due to their negative connections to mental health, suggesting alternatives such as "wild", "silly", or "out of this world", which do not relate to mental health.

Alternate

That which alternates with something else; vicissitude.

Alternative

Offering a choice of two things.

Alternate

(US) A substitute; an alternative; one designated to take the place of another, if necessary, in performing some duty.

Alternative

Disjunctive; as, an alternative conjunction.

Alternate

(mathematics) A proportion derived from another proportion by interchanging the means.

Alternative

Alternate; reciprocal.

Alternate

(US) A replacement of equal or greater value or function.

Alternative

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.

Alternate

(heraldry) Figures or tinctures that succeed each other by turns.

Alternative

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.

Alternate

(transitive) To perform by turns, or in succession; to cause to succeed by turns; to interchange regularly.

Alternative

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.

Alternate

(intransitive) To happen, succeed, or act by turns; to follow reciprocally in place or time; followed by with.
The flood and ebb tides alternate with each other.

Alternative

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.

Alternate

(intransitive) To vary by turns.
The land alternates between rocky hills and sandy plains.

Alternative

One of a number of things from which only one can be chosen;
What option did I have?
There no other alternative
My only choice is to refuse

Alternate

To perform an alternation (removal of alternate vertices) on (a polytope or tessellation); to remove vertices (from a face or edge) as part of an alternation.

Alternative

Allowing a choice;
An alternative plan

Alternate

Being or succeeding by turns; one following the other in succession of time or place; by turns first one and then the other; hence, reciprocal.
And bid alternate passions fall and rise.

Alternative

Necessitating a choice between mutually exclusive possibilities;
`either' and `or' in `either this or that'

Alternate

Designating the members in a series, which regularly intervene between the members of another series, as the odd or even numbers of the numerals; every other; every second; as, the alternate members 1, 3, 5, 7, etc. ; read every alternate line.

Alternative

Pertaining to unconventional choices;
An alternative life style

Alternate

Distributed, as leaves, singly at different heights of the stem, and at equal intervals as respects angular divergence.

Alternate

That which alternates with something else; vicissitude.
Grateful alternates of substantial.

Alternate

A substitute; one designated to take the place of another, if necessary, in performing some duty.

Alternate

A proportion derived from another proportion by interchanging the means.

Alternate

To perform by turns, or in succession; to cause to succeed by turns; to interchange regularly.
The most high God, in all things appertaining unto this life, for sundry wise ends alternates the disposition of good and evil.

Alternate

To happen, succeed, or act by turns; to follow reciprocally in place or time; - followed by with; as, the flood and ebb tides alternate with each other.
Rage, shame, and grief alternate in his breast.
Different species alternating with each other.

Alternate

To vary by turns; as, the land alternates between rocky hills and sandy plains.

Alternate

Someone who takes the place of another person

Alternate

Go back and forth; swing back and forth between two states or conditions

Alternate

Exchange people temporarily to fulfill certain jobs and functions

Alternate

Be an understudy or alternate for a role

Alternate

Reverse (a direction, attitude, or course of action)

Alternate

Do something in turns;
We take turns on the night shift

Alternate

Every second one of a series;
The cleaning lady comes on alternate Wednesdays
Jam every other day

Alternate

Allowing a choice;
An alternative plan

Alternate

Occurring by turns; first one and then the other;
Alternating feelings of love and hate

Alternate

Of leaves and branches etc; first on one side and then on the other in two ranks along an axis; not paired;
Stems with alternate leaves

Alternate vs. Alternative

An alternate is a thing or a person serving in place of another; on the other hand, an alternative is a second option with no replacement.

The pronunciation of alternate is /ɔːltəneɪt/ or /ɒltəneɪt/; on the flip side, the pronunciation of the word alternative is /ɔːlˈtəːnətɪv/ or /ɒlˈtəːnətɪv/. The total number of letters in alternate is nine; on the other side, the letters that alternative contains are eleven.

The word ‘alternate’ comes directly from Latin; conversely, the word ‘alternative’ comes through French translating into the meaning ‘different.’

The word alternate is an adjective, a noun, and a verb also. As an adjective, it means “(of days) every other, (of time) every second.” As an adjective, it also means “a thing followed by the other in a regular pattern.” As a noun, it refers to a person acting as a deputy or substitute. As a verb, it means “to occur, perform, or repeatedly do in turn.” It also means “repeatedly change between any two contrasting conditions.” On the other hand, the word alternative is an adjective, as well as a noun. As an adjective, it means “the possibility or availability of another choice.” As a noun, it means “two or many possibilities that are available.”

What is Alternate?

The word alternate originated from a Latin word ‘alternus’ meaning to take turns. An alternate is a thing or a person serving in place of another. The word alternate is an adjective, a noun, and a verb also. As an adjective, it means “(of days) every other, (of time) every second.” As an adjective, it also means “a thing followed by the other in a regular pattern.” As a noun, it refers to a person acting as a deputy or substitute. As a verb, it means “to occur, perform, or repeatedly do in turn.” It also means “repeatedly change between any two contrasting conditions.”

The pronunciation of alternate is /ɔːltəneɪt/ or /ɒltəneɪt/. The word ‘alternate’ comes directly from Latin apart from its counterpart alternative that comes via the French language. The total number of letters in alternate is six. The letters that alternative contains are eleven. The use of the word alternate is common than its counterpart. It is also used in science fiction. There is the phrase ‘alternate universe’ in science fiction that means a different universe. The word ‘alternate’ is also used in street signs and official documents.

An alternate is known as the replacement for the original thing/person/place. It is a replacement for such a thing, which is no longer an option. In other words, an alternative is the other option for the original one. We can also say that an alternative is a final option. An alternative is left after all other options are gone.

Examples

  • “The bus is broken. We need alternate transport.”
  • The road is closed due to landslide, so we need to take an alternate (as an adjective)
  • “The lights alternate between red and white.” (as a verb)
  • “I felt first amused and then angered by the situation, though my alternate emotions returned to humor when I noted the underlying implications.”
  • “We alternated between watching the baby and taking short naps.”

What is Alternative?

The word alternative originated from the Latin word ‘alternus’ meaning to take turns. It comes through the French word that is translating into the meaning ‘different.’ An alternative is such a second option that does not replace the first.

The pronunciation of the word alternative is /ɔːlˈtəːnətɪv/ or /ɒlˈtəːnətɪv/. The letters that alternative contains are eleven. The word alternative is an adjective, as well as a noun. As an adjective, it means “the possibility or availability of another choice.” As a noun, it means “two or many possibilities that are available.”

The word alternative directs a second or another option. It does not replace the original as its counterpart ‘alternate’ does. An alternative as an adjective is also used in phrases. These phrases are ‘alternative medicine,’ ‘alternative lifestyle.’ In such phrases, it means a thing that is outside the normal or routine practice.

Examples

  • We could try to ram the castle doors, but I have an alternative: we scale the walls instead.”
  • “Our driver is asking for twice as much money than expected. My neighbor’s driver is an alternative.” (as a noun)
  • “The construction has closed this road. Come on, let’s take an alternative route.” (as an adjective)
  • “The car is quite expensive. I think we should take alternative transport.”
  • “Our last alternative is to kill the snake to prevent ourselves from harm.”

Trending Comparisons

New Comparisons