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
Examples of instead in a Sentence
I was offered a ride, but I chose to walk instead.
Recent Examples on the Web
The flame-throwing closer, instead, was in sealing up a 3-1 Phillies’ win over the Twins on Friday night at Citizens Bank Park.
—
Betsy Helfand, Twin Cities, 27 Sep. 2025
Generation X was the first to cope without ubiquitous workplace pensions, relying instead on a new savings tool called the 401(k).
—Daniel De Visé, USA Today, 27 Sep. 2025
There were dozens of other US fugitives of justice living in Cuba, many of them would-be revolutionaries that had arrived on the island thinking Castro’s government would provide them the military training to become the next Che Guevara but instead they were given menial jobs and forgotten.
—Patrick Oppmann, CNN Money, 26 Sep. 2025
Entries for its 2025 Annual National Gingerbread House Competition are now being accepted, after it the event was canceled last year — though the inn put gingerbread displays all around Asheville instead.
—Charlotte Observer, 26 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for instead
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Betsy Helfand, Twin Cities, 27 Sep. 2025
Generation X was the first to cope without ubiquitous workplace pensions, relying instead on a new savings tool called the 401(k).
—Daniel De Visé, USA Today, 27 Sep. 2025
There were dozens of other US fugitives of justice living in Cuba, many of them would-be revolutionaries that had arrived on the island thinking Castro’s government would provide them the military training to become the next Che Guevara but instead they were given menial jobs and forgotten.
—Patrick Oppmann, CNN Money, 26 Sep. 2025
Entries for its 2025 Annual National Gingerbread House Competition are now being accepted, after it the event was canceled last year — though the inn put gingerbread displays all around Asheville instead.
—Charlotte Observer, 26 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for instead
Cite this Entry
“Instead.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/instead. Accessed 2 Oct. 2025.
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instead
adverb
in·stead
in-ˈsted 
: as a substitute
was going to write but called instead
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