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

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

Verdier’s most notable innovation is the use of a canting keel as the support for one of the foils, with the other two contact points being a foil on the rudder and, alternately, the two lateral foils. —Bill Springer, Forbes.com, 7 July 2025

Speaking at the Capitol Jess alternately texted on her cellphone and scanned a swarm of protesters who gathered across the Wisconsin State Capitol’s lawn. —Bennet Goldstein, jsonline.com, 4 July 2025

The fallout renders Agnes emotionally stunted, running alternately on autopilot and impulse. —Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times, 27 June 2025

In the meantime, Claude scrutinized the room, alternately winking and scowling at the residents and care workers within eyeshot before diligently watching the door. —Hazlitt, 18 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1