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

Carol is alternately enchanted and frustrated by her husband’s innocence and altruism, which led him to his not particularly remunerative career as an interpreter. — Inkoo Kang, New Yorker, 22 July 2026

Throughout the film, Elle and Tao alternately bicker and give each other the silent treatment over Elle’s plans to go to Berlin after graduation to pursue a career as an artist. — Jessica Sager, PEOPLE, 17 July 2026

The trailer finds the film’s protagonists alternately hunting or fleeing the vicious creature — or creatures — through a tattered town known as Hope Harbor, a remote coastal village near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in South Korea. — Patrick Brzeski, HollywoodReporter, 9 July 2026

The fun part of this recipe is poking holes in the cake and then spooning in the blueberry and strawberry fillings alternately to create the red, white, and blue effect. — Brennan Long, Southern Living, 3 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1