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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
  • Clark doesn't need another national controversy attached to her name either.
    — Jonathan Flora OutKick, FOXNews.com, 25 Sep. 2026
  • As of this week, there’s no money earmarked for construction, either.
    — Mark Dee, Idaho Statesman, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of either
Adverb
  • Buyers can gain even more off-grid capability by optionally upgrading to a 750-Ah battery and 800-watt solar setup and/or adding on options like Starlink satellite internet, a Goodguards water filtration system and a Maxview 4x4 LTE 5G antenna.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 5 Sep. 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
  • Focus on the good ones instead, and the model stays simple enough to understand, not a black box.
    — Wayne Hamilton, Forbes.com, 25 Sep. 2026
  • When the time came to renew the lease for the ghost kitchen, the brothers decided instead to sign on with a broker and go brick and mortar.
    — Sean Timberlake, Sacbee.com, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of instead
Adverb
  • Chicago police have alternately been accused of disregarding federal agents’ 911 calls and aiding immigration enforcement through traffic stops and crowd control.
    — Caroline Kubzansky, Chicago Tribune, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Other men on the street and at work in the surroundings alternately lust after and spy on the sisters.
    — Jessica Kiang, Variety, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of alternately
Adverb
  • The loft is accessed by a staircase and has ample space for a third double bed, or alternatively it could be used for storage or as a general hangout area.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 5 Sep. 2026
  • The United States should not echo its 1970s policies around food power, during which officials boasted of altruism while attempting to exert political strength by alternatively deploying and withholding its grain supply.
    — Anna Nelson, Foreign Affairs, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of alternatively

Browse Nearby Words

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 29 Sep. 2026.

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