Definition of: alternative

(ôl·tûr′nə·tiv, al-) adjective
1. Affording a choice between two things.
2. Of or pertaining to alternation; implying or involving an alternative: alternative conjunctions.
3. Occurring outside the boundaries of the established social, economic, or medical systems.
—noun
1. Something that may or must be instead of something else; a choice between two things: used sometimes, loosely, of more than two.
2. One of the things to be chosen.
—al·ter′na· tive·ly adverb
—al·ter′na·tive·ness noun Synonyms: choice, election, option, pick, preference, resource. A choice may be among many things; an alternative is in the strictest sense of choice between two things, but the usage is often extended to more than two. Option is the right or privilege of choosing; choice may be either the right to choose, the act of choosing, or the thing chosen. A choice, pick, election, or preference is that which suits one best; an alternative is that to which one is restricted; a resource, that to which one is glad to betake oneself. Antonyms: compulsion, necessity.