alternation

noun al·ter·na·tion \ ˌȯl-tər-ˈnā-shən also ˌal- \

Updated on: 10 May 2018

Definition of alternation

1 a : the act or process of alternating or causing to alternate

b : alternating occurrence : succession

2 : inclusive disjunction

3 : the occurrence of different allomorphs or allophones

See alternation defined for kids

Recent Examples of alternation from the Web

There is one minor alternation to the original option many saw, with everyone on McDonough Street now zoned for F.AVE.

— bill banks, ajc, "Decatur board approves new boundaries for elementary schools," 26 Apr. 2018
The 80-some piece collection employs a breadth of handicrafts from Japanese boro, Spanish shearling intarsia (a method of color alternation), African patchwork from Togo and Senegal, and ribbon embroidery from India.

— lilah ramzi, Vogue, "Jonathan Anderson Traveled the Globe to Create Loewe’s New Blankets," 17 Apr. 2018
Or is that an alternation permanently to the way you guys are incorporated?

— meghann farnsworth, Recode, "Full transcript: Apple CEO Tim Cook with Recode’s Kara Swisher and MSNBC’s Chris Hayes," 7 Apr. 2018
The line might not have so strongly suggested our hero’s wandering eye without Schubert putting dilemma into sound with a quick alternation between major and minor.

— peter dobrin, Philly.com, "Baritone Thomas Meglioranza and pianist Reiko Uchida in stunning Schubert song cycle," 19 Mar. 2018
Other conditions include screening of mechanical building components from public view and alternations to spacing and height, to preserve sight lines to and from the bridge.

— scott huddleston, San Antonio Express-News, "Group vows to keep fighting Hays Street project," 26 Mar. 2018
At the conference in Madison, linguists threw around phrases such as auxiliary alternation and diachronic precursor, speaking an academic code Washington avoids.

— william brennan, The Atlantic, "Julie Washington’s Quest to Get Schools to Respect African-American English," 8 Mar. 2018
Image In land vertebrates, or tetrapods, walking is partly characterized by this left-right alternation as well as rhythms of extending and flexing.

— steph yin, New York Times, "These Skates Are Made for Walking," 8 Feb. 2018
Nunes disagreed, and his staff described any changes as minor edits or alternations requested by the FBI and Democrats.

— the washington post, NOLA.com, "Trump to approve release of GOP memo Friday over objections from law enforcement, intel community," 2 Feb. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'alternation.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of alternation

15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

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ALTERNATION Defined for Kids

alternation

noun al·ter·na·tion \ ˌȯl-tər-ˈnā-shən \

Definition of alternation for Students

: the act, process, or result of taking place by turns

alternation of light and dark

Learn More about alternation

See words that rhyme with alternation Spanish Central: Translation of alternation Nglish: Translation of alternation for Spanish speakers

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