alternative

alternative — adjective

1. describes a plan, route, product, or way of doing something that you can pick in

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

describes a plan, route, product, or way of doing something that you can pick instead of the first or main one, usually when the first option is not suitable.

Example

After the bridge collapsed, the bus driver took an alternative route through the village.

alternative + route (transport context)

Greta offered her vegan friends an alternative dessert made with coconut milk.

alternative + countable noun

Common collocations
  • alternative route
  • alternative method
  • alternative source
  • alternative arrangement
Synonyms
  • another

    more general; lacks the idea of a backup or replacement

  • substitute

    stronger emphasis on directly replacing the first thing

  • different

    neutral; does not imply that this option exists for a specific reason

Grammar Patterns

alternative + noun

Usage Note

Almost always attributive (used before a noun). Distinguish from sense 2: this sense is neutral and simply marks one option among several, while sense 2 carries the meaning of unconventional or outside the mainstream.

Common Mistakes

The plan was alternative.
There was an alternative plan ready.
this sense is attributive; do not use it after the verb 'be' to mean 'available as another option'.

2. describes art, music, lifestyles, or ideas that step away from the mainstream an

2.adjectiveB2
Definition

describes art, music, lifestyles, or ideas that step away from the mainstream and are loved by a smaller, devoted audience — for example, indie rock bands or community-run schools.

Example

Zara runs a small alternative bookstore that sells zines and handmade poetry.

alternative + bookstore (cultural niche)

The teenagers loved alternative music and dressed in dark, baggy clothes.

alternative music (genre label)

Common collocations
  • alternative music
  • alternative lifestyle
  • alternative medicine
  • alternative comedy
Synonyms
  • unconventional

    more formal; stresses going against tradition

  • underground

    stronger sense of operating outside official channels

  • indie

    informal; mainly used of music and small creative businesses

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

alternative + noun

Usage Note

Very common with culture and lifestyle nouns: music, art, theatre, comedy, medicine, school, lifestyle, community. Distinguish from sense 1: this sense describes the character of the thing itself (it IS unconventional), not its role as a backup option.

Common Mistakes

I took an alternative road because the highway was closed' (when meaning unconventional).
I took an alternative road because the highway was closed' belongs to sense 1.
for sense 2, the noun is usually about culture, art, or lifestyle, not a practical backup.

alternative — noun

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words name something a person can pick, but they highlight different ideas. 'Choice' is the broadest and most everyday — it can name the act of choosing or the thing chosen, with no special context required. 'Option' is similarly neutral and is common in business and technology, where a list of options is simply on offer. 'Alternative' is more specific: it usually implies that there is a default or expected path, and this is a different way to reach the same goal — 'cycling is an alternative to driving'. 'Substitute' goes further, suggesting that the original is missing or unsuitable and this thing fills its place — 'the coach used a substitute when the striker got injured'. So you might choose an option from a menu, but you turn to an alternative when you want to avoid the usual road.

alternative ↗option ↗choice ↗substitute

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • have no alternative but to
  • offer an alternative
  • seek an alternative
  • the only alternative

Prepositions

  • alternative to
  • alternative for

Etymology

LatinMedieval LatinMiddle FrenchEnglish

The word entered English in the 1500s through Medieval Latin 'alternativus', built on Latin 'alternare' meaning to do something by turns. The earliest English use carried the idea of a choice between two things only, but over time the meaning broadened so that 'an alternative' can now refer to any of several available options. The 'unconventional' sense — alternative music, alternative medicine — is a much later development, recorded mainly from the late twentieth century as counterculture movements grew.