alternately
adverb
al·ter·nate·ly
US and Canadian
ˈȯl-tər-nət-lē
also ˈal-;
chiefly British ȯl-ˈtər-
1
: by turns one after the other
His heart rate was 175, his blood pressure alternately spiking and falling.—
Stephen King
Stephen KingAs the gravitational waves passed Earth, they would alternately compress and expand the space between two objects.—Neil deGrasse Tyson et al.
Neil deGrasse Tyson et al.The rest of the day I spent alternately pacing the length of the train … or looking out the windows.—Rick Riordan
Rick Riordan2
: as an alternative
—used to introduce a different possibility from what has been previously suggested or described
From then on, you can take out almost $10,000 a year and annuitize $160,000 after at least ten years. Alternately, you can make no withdrawals and let your guaranteed base grow by 6 percent a year.—Kerry Pechter
Kerry PechterThe club was originally known as Fontana Bar (or, alternately, Fontana Lounge and Fontana Room) from Bellagio's opening until it shifted to Hyde in December 2011.—John Katsilometes
John KatsilometesYou could be in for a pretty remarkable experience—or, alternately, one of the most miserable and terrifying nights of your life.—Drew Schwartz
Drew SchwartzExamples of alternately in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Shear is careful in both the blocking and the reaction shots to show the impact others can have with just their presence, leading to a scene set around a dinner table with the entire family that is alternately hilarious and devastating, with the vitality of live theater.
—Stephen Saito, Variety, 12 Mar. 2025
Carroll arrived in September, by which time the group had grown to 10 people and was alternately calling itself Melanation or the Etherians.
—David Peisner, Rolling Stone, 23 Feb. 2025
The dialogue is alternately wry and poetic, trafficking in a deadpan magical realism, involving its bustling cast of colorful characters in a circular story, with events revisited via shifting perspectives and time frames.
—Jason Bailey, New York Times, 19 Feb. 2025
Writer-director Carmen Emmi, making his feature directorial debut, cleverly deploys lo-fi VHS footage at key moments to ramp up the sense of unease, alternately signifying the police surveillance that haunts his conscience as well as flashes of memory.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 24 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for alternately
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Stephen Saito, Variety, 12 Mar. 2025
Carroll arrived in September, by which time the group had grown to 10 people and was alternately calling itself Melanation or the Etherians.
—David Peisner, Rolling Stone, 23 Feb. 2025
The dialogue is alternately wry and poetic, trafficking in a deadpan magical realism, involving its bustling cast of colorful characters in a circular story, with events revisited via shifting perspectives and time frames.
—Jason Bailey, New York Times, 19 Feb. 2025
Writer-director Carmen Emmi, making his feature directorial debut, cleverly deploys lo-fi VHS footage at key moments to ramp up the sense of unease, alternately signifying the police surveillance that haunts his conscience as well as flashes of memory.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 24 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for alternately
Cite this Entry
“Alternately.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/alternately. Accessed 14 Mar. 2025.
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