Word Confusion: Alternate versus Alternative

Posted October 18, 2018 by kddidit in Author Resources, Self-Editing, Word Confusions, Writing

Revised as of
20 June 2023

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There are almost always alternative selections for a word, in fact, I’d suggest you alternate your words when writing fiction to keep it interesting.

Alternate is one after the other while alternative allows you to decide for one instead of the other.

There is an argument from traditionalists that only two alternatives are allowable, and that using more than two alternatives is wrong. However, it is a common usage in modern standard English.

You may also want to explore “Alternative versus Choice“.

Word Confusions . . .

. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.

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Alternate	Alternative
Warm-up with a Stretch by Q000024 is in the public domain, via PxHere. — When exercising, always alternate between one leg and the other.	Driving into the Future by Kevin Dooley is under the CC BY 2.0 license, via VisualHunt. — Windmills are an alternative energy source.
Part of Grammar:
Adjective; Noun; Verb, intransitive & transitive Plural for the noun: alternates Gerund: alternating Third person present verb: alternates Past tense or past participle: alternated Present participle: alternating	Adjective; Noun Plural for noun: alternatives
Every other Adjective: Every other Every second one of a series [Of two things] Each following and succeeded by the other in a regular pattern Being in a constant state of succession or rotation [Chiefly North American] Taking the place of Alternative [US] Available as another choice [Botany; of leaves or shoots] Placed alternately on the two sides of the stem Reciprocal Mutual Constituting a different choice [Botany] Opposite to the intervals between other organs Noun: [North American] A person who acts as a deputy or substitute A person authorized to fill the position, exercise the duties, etc., of another who [Theater] Either of two actors who take turns playing the same role An understudy Alternative Verb, intransitive: Occur in turn repeatedly To interchange repeatedly and regularly with one another in time or place To change back and forth between conditions, states, actions, etc. [Usually followed by with] Rotate [Electricity] To reverse direction or sign periodically [Linguistics] To occur as a variant in alternation with another form Verb, transitive: Do or perform in turn repeatedly To interchange successively or regularly	Choices Adjective: [Attrib.; of two or more things] Available as another possibility [Of two things] Mutually exclusive Relating to behavior that is considered unconventional and is often seen as a challenge to traditional norms [Logic; of a proposition] Asserting two or more choices, at least one of which is true Noun: One of two or more available possibilities, as of things, propositions, or courses of action, the selection of which precludes any other possibility One of the things, propositions, or courses of action that can be chosen A possible or remaining course or choice
Examples:
Adjective: She was asked to attend on alternate days. They scheduled alternate bouts of intense labor and of idleness. The rerouted traffic takes a variety of alternate routes. Winter and summer are alternate seasons. The Joneses experienced alternate acts of kindness. Read only the alternate lines. The alternate route is more scenic. On this one, the petals alternate with the sepals. Noun: Each group selected its own delegates and alternates. Each team has four players in the game at a time, with some teams using a fifth as an alternate. The process of choosing eight alternates is under way. We need to use an alternate for the performance tomorrow. Direct current (DC) flows in only one direction through a wire while alternating current (AC), on the other hand, uses an alternate direction of flow. There are alternate morphological typologies for classifying the languages of the world, including isolating, agglutinative, fusional, polysynthetic, etc. Verb, intransitive: His bouts of depression alternate with periods of elation. It was a season of alternating hot days and cool nights. The governorship alternated between the Republican and Democratic parties. Day alternates with night. He alternates between hope and despair. My sister and I alternate in doing the dishes. Verb, transitive: We have some adults who wish to alternate work with education. The doctor told me to to alternate jogging and walking. Helen is supposed to alternate hot and cold compresses. Actually, they alternated between investigation and writing.	Adjective: The best examples of alternative energy sources include wave, biofuels, natural gas, geothermal, wind, biomass, tidal, and hydrogen. There are various alternative methods for resolving disputes. The alternative definition of democracy is popular power. The facts fit two alternative scenarios. Kate and Jackson enjoy an alternative lifestyle. They have one foot in alternative music and the other in rock. The alternative possibilities are neutrality and war. The Onion is an alternative newspaper. “Non-classical logics (and sometimes alternative logics) are formal systems that differ in a significant way from standard logical systems such as propositional and predicate logic” (Logic). Noun: The alternative is to accept a lower salary. Audiocassettes are an interesting alternative to reading. She had no alternative but to break the law. The alternative to riding is walking. There was no alternative but to walk.
Derivatives:
Adjective: alt., alternating, nonalternating, quasi-alternating, unalternated, unalternating Adverb: alternately, alternatingly, quasi-alternatingly Noun: alt., alternateness	Adjective: quasi-alternative Adverb: alternatively, quasi-alternatively Noun: alternativeness, alternativity
History of the Word:
Late Middle English as alternation. 1505–15, from the Latin alternat- meaning done by turns, which is from alternare, which is from alternus meaning every other, from alter, which means other.	Mid-16th century, in the sense of alternating, alternate, is from the French alternatif, -ive or the medieval Latin alternativus, which is from the Latin alternare meaning interchange.

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C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!

Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.

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