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

Drive-Away Dolls, by Ethan Coen, is the year’s second-funniest film, a lesbian road movie where the conflict between love and choice is alternately dumbfounding and satirical. —Armond White, National Review, 12 July 2024

When the original film was released in the summer of 2016, the culture was still throwing cash at the alternately shocking and sweet shenanigans of Seth Rogen‘s budding bro-euvre. —Ben Travers, IndieWire, 11 July 2024

Those who feel compelled to entertain themselves with fireworks throughout the summer could alternately do so by looking at fireworks on their computer or phone. —Fred Medinger, Baltimore Sun, 6 July 2024

Many leaders, wars, crises, economic booms and busts have alternately shaped, strained, and strengthened this alliance over the past 250 years. —TIME, 2 July 2024

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1