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

Terms & Conditions offers an alternately riotous and meditative compendium of the Black experience. —Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 5 Aug. 2025

With mixer on low speed, gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with lemon juice-pineapple mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture, beating until combined after each addition and scraping down sides of bowl as needed. —Kimberly Holland, Southern Living, 29 July 2025

There’s an ongoing flashback—alternately heartwarming and bloodcurdling—that portrays the young Wash’s life in and escape from Barbados (Eddie Karanja plays the child counterpart to Kingsley Junior), to Virginia, then to farther north. —Vinson Cunningham, New Yorker, 2 Aug. 2025

Presidents have alternately rescinded and reinstated the policy since its creation; most recently, President Trump brought it back at the start of his second term. —Rachel Treisman, NPR, 28 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1