instead

adverb

in·​stead in-ˈsted 

1

: as a substitute or equivalent

was going to write but called instead

2

: as an alternative to something expressed or implied : rather

longed instead for a quiet country life

Synonyms

• rather

Examples of instead in a Sentence

I was offered a ride, but I chose to walk instead.

Recent Examples on the Web

These behaviors are not explicitly programmed but instead emerge as a result of the model’s interaction with the reinforcement learning environment. —ArsTechnica, 7 July 2025

While most houses of this era were a chaotic collection of rooms and meandering hallways, the Robie House (and most of Wright’s homes) instead has an open floor plan—a revolutionary design choice at the time. —Tori Latham, Robb Report, 7 July 2025

This is never mentioned in The Salt Path book, which instead says that Raynor Winn and her husband lost their home after being taken advantage of by a childhood friend of Moth Winn’s. —Max Goldbart, Deadline, 7 July 2025

At the same time, the Trump administration recently withdrew support for relocating the FBI headquarters to a 61-acre site in Greenbelt, Maryland, instead backing a new location at the Ronald Reagan Building in downtown Washington, D.C., just blocks from the existing J. Edgar Hoover Building. —Heather Hunter, The Washington Examiner, 7 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1667, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing instead

• instead of

Rhymes for instead

• abed
• ahead
• beachhead
• bedspread
• bedstead
• behead
• blackhead
• blockhead
• bloodshed
• bowhead
• breastfed
• bridgehead

Kids Definition

instead

adverb

in·​stead in-ˈsted 

: as a substitute

was going to write but called instead