as in rather
as a substitute
I was offered a ride, but I chose to walk instead
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Recent Examples of instead
And our Test Kitchen chose a puff pastry topping instead.
—
Nellah Bailey McGough, Southern Living, 13 Oct. 2025
Los Angeles Dodgers star Blake Snell is not buying into the Milwaukee Brewers' underdog motto, treating them instead as the team that was the best in the National League all season long.
—Nelson Espinal, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Oct. 2025
The Maine Wire reported that the woman was expecting a delivery of rice, paper plates, and a toy lightsaber, but instead discovered the ballots inside her Amazon package.
—Thao Nguyen, USA Today, 7 Oct. 2025
Trump sends California guards to Oregon A federal judge this weekend ruled that the president could not deploy 200 Oregon National Guard troops in Portland so the president ordered hundreds of California National Guard troops to deploy there instead.
—Diane Brady, Fortune, 6 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for instead
Nellah Bailey McGough, Southern Living, 13 Oct. 2025
Los Angeles Dodgers star Blake Snell is not buying into the Milwaukee Brewers' underdog motto, treating them instead as the team that was the best in the National League all season long.
—Nelson Espinal, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Oct. 2025
The Maine Wire reported that the woman was expecting a delivery of rice, paper plates, and a toy lightsaber, but instead discovered the ballots inside her Amazon package.
—Thao Nguyen, USA Today, 7 Oct. 2025
Trump sends California guards to Oregon A federal judge this weekend ruled that the president could not deploy 200 Oregon National Guard troops in Portland so the president ordered hundreds of California National Guard troops to deploy there instead.
—Diane Brady, Fortune, 6 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for instead
Recent Examples of Synonyms for instead
rather
Adverb
-
On the left wing, Charlton selects a rather more famous winger, Paco Gento.—
Michael Walker,
New York Times,
11 Oct. 2025
-
Stephen Frears’s Gothic drama is, to be fair, rather watchable — atmospheric and melancholic, with John Malkovich clearly getting a kick out of chewing any and all available scenery.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
10 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Instead.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/instead. Accessed 16 Oct. 2025.
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