alternately

adverb

al·​ter·​nate·​ly
US and Canadian
ˈȯl-tər-nət-lē How to pronounce alternately (audio)
 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
As the gravitational waves passed Earth, they would alternately compress and expand the space between two objects.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
2
: 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
The 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
You could be in for a pretty remarkable experience—or, alternately, one of the most miserable and terrifying nights of your life.Drew Schwartz

Examples of alternately in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Combine flour, chocolate chips, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and cloves; add to egg mixture alternately with pumpkin, beating well after each addition. Kathryn Gregory, Louisville Courier Journal, 15 Oct. 2025 Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Ann Taylor Pittman, Southern Living, 11 Oct. 2025 Her movements alternately seemed to come from a concentration of spirit and its release. Guillermo Perez, Miami Herald, 7 Oct. 2025 Speaking of which, the big category shake-up this year is the introduction of best traditional country album, which is alternately being seen as a reaction to Beyoncé’s best country album victory last year or simply catching up to similar subdivisions in R&B and other genres. Alan Light, HollywoodReporter, 1 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for alternately

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of alternately was in the 15th century

Cite this Entry

“Alternately.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/alternately. Accessed 23 Oct. 2025.

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