electively

adverb

as in either

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of electively The majority of women who freeze their eggs electively are White and well-resourced. — Lesley Stahl, CBS News, 31 May 2026 Where Your Insurance Likely Stands For most women freezing eggs electively, insurance won’t cover the procedure. — Allison Palmer, Kansas City Star, 8 Apr. 2026 Pfizer and AstraZeneca recently agreed to lower the cost of prescription drugs for Medicaid after an executive order in May set a deadline for drugmakers to electively lower prices or face new limits on what the government will pay. — Staff, Twin Cities, 6 Nov. 2025 Both agreements, however, build on an executive order Trump signed in May that set a deadline for drugmakers to electively lower prices or face new limits on what the government will pay. — Arkansas Online, 12 Oct. 2025 The agreement by Pfizfer builds on an executive order Trump signed in May setting a deadline for drugmakers to electively lower prices or face new limits on what the government will pay. — Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune, 30 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for electively
  1. either
  2. optionally
  3. instead
  4. alternately
  5. alternatively
Adverb
  • If your team can’t reconstruct what the agent saw and did in March, the auditor can’t either.
    — Jacqueline DeStefano-Tangorra, Forbes.com, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Driving isn’t advisable either, nor is one of his other passions, riding a motorcycle, Joel told the Hollywood Reporter in an article that came out Thursday.
    — Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of either
Adverb
  • Wavecamper, too, installs two individual rear seats standard but offers fifth and sixth seats optionally, expanding the Flex E-Line's capability to serve as a proper everyday MPV for families, as well as a cozy four-sleeper camper van.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 7 Oct. 2026
  • This includes cameras, microphones, and optionally radar, which watch the surrounding area in all directions.
    — Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of optionally
Adverb
  • The coaches, administrators, staff and athletes will have no affiliation with our colleges and universities but instead will be employed by their respective professional leagues.
    — Bruce Svare, Sportico.com, 17 Oct. 2026
  • The Singapore Shipping Association also played down the prospect of a broad withdrawal of commercial shipping from the region, suggesting operators would instead adapt to changing trade conditions.
    — Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of instead
Adverb
  • As the Tingleys alternately acquiesced to and resisted Vista Grande's insistence on medication, administrators started calling 911 after altercations, according to ambulance and police dispatch records.
    — Jordan Rau, NPR, 30 Sep. 2026
  • Spock has cycled through several relationships that have challenged him alternately to get in touch with the human and Vulcan sides of his personality.
    — Keith Phipps, Vulture, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of alternately
Adverb
  • The Ocarina of Time remake, alternatively, maintains the original game's cartoony aesthetic but layers it with intricate detail.
    — James Perkins Mastromarino, NPR, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Capillary action could help draw venom into the venom canal, or, alternatively, the venom may need to counter capillary action that draws fluid up from the tissue.
    — Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of alternatively

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elective
electively
electives
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Cite this Entry

“Electively.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/electively. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

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