as in options
the power, right, or opportunity to choose
there's no alternative: we must cross the stream to reach our destination
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of alternatives
Lighter alternatives often fail under the elevated temperatures and pressures of high-performance engines.
—
Chris Young, Interesting Engineering, 12 June 2026
Housing advocates say renters with few affordable alternatives are especially vulnerable to fees that arrive without warning.
—Jack O'Connor, Chicago Tribune, 11 June 2026
After settling on the optimum ingredient balance and brewing time, researchers conducted a blind taste-test with 100 coffee drinkers using traditional espresso and filter coffee, as well as their ultrasonic alternatives.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 11 June 2026
The appetite-suppressant supplement market is already full of products marketed as Ozempic alternatives with no clinical backing.
—Allison Palmer, Miami Herald, 11 June 2026
Lee and his team document everything—what works, what doesn’t, what costs too much to be practical—and then publish the findings publicly, for free, like alternatives for 30 common plastic items in restaurants in partnership with Open Table.
—Lanee Lee, Forbes.com, 11 June 2026
That side-effect burden is driving a real search for alternatives, and one of the most promising candidates comes from a Stanford Medicine lab that used artificial intelligence to find a natural molecule already inside the human body.
—Allison Palmer, Kansas City Star, 11 June 2026
Medicare Advantage plans are private-sector alternatives to traditional Medicare, which is run by the federal government and rarely requires prior authorization.
—Berkeley Lovelace Jr, NBC news, 11 June 2026
Roughly 95% of enterprise AI usage is still running on the most expensive frontier models, even for tasks that could be handled by cheaper alternatives, Jain said.
—Deirdre Bosa,jasmine Wu, CNBC, 29 May 2026
Chris Young, Interesting Engineering, 12 June 2026
Housing advocates say renters with few affordable alternatives are especially vulnerable to fees that arrive without warning.
—Jack O'Connor, Chicago Tribune, 11 June 2026
After settling on the optimum ingredient balance and brewing time, researchers conducted a blind taste-test with 100 coffee drinkers using traditional espresso and filter coffee, as well as their ultrasonic alternatives.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 11 June 2026
The appetite-suppressant supplement market is already full of products marketed as Ozempic alternatives with no clinical backing.
—Allison Palmer, Miami Herald, 11 June 2026
Lee and his team document everything—what works, what doesn’t, what costs too much to be practical—and then publish the findings publicly, for free, like alternatives for 30 common plastic items in restaurants in partnership with Open Table.
—Lanee Lee, Forbes.com, 11 June 2026
That side-effect burden is driving a real search for alternatives, and one of the most promising candidates comes from a Stanford Medicine lab that used artificial intelligence to find a natural molecule already inside the human body.
—Allison Palmer, Kansas City Star, 11 June 2026
Medicare Advantage plans are private-sector alternatives to traditional Medicare, which is run by the federal government and rarely requires prior authorization.
—Berkeley Lovelace Jr, NBC news, 11 June 2026
Roughly 95% of enterprise AI usage is still running on the most expensive frontier models, even for tasks that could be handled by cheaper alternatives, Jain said.
—Deirdre Bosa,jasmine Wu, CNBC, 29 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for alternatives
Noun
-
Food and drink Perhaps the easiest way to distinguish a run-of-the-mill all-inclusive from a luxury one is the food and beverage options.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
11 June 2026
-
And there are multiple debt relief options available to explore now, from debt consolidation loans to debt management programs to even credit card debt forgiveness and bankruptcy for extreme cases.—
Matt Richardson,
CBS News,
10 June 2026
Noun
-
Spacious two- and three-bedroom suites are great choices for families, featuring full kitchens and private terraces with ocean views.—
Allison Tibaldi,
USA Today,
9 June 2026
-
Dobbins told Alford that his 2026 choices were down to two.—
Sean Keeler,
Denver Post,
9 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Alternatives.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/alternatives. Accessed 16 Jun. 2026.
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