Adjacent Words

Alternate definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

ALTERN'ATE, a. [L. alternatus.]
1. Being by turns; one following the other in succession of time or place; hence reciprocal.
And bid alternate passions fall and rise.
2. In botany branches and leaves are alternate, when they rise higher on opposite sides alternately, come out singly, and follow in gradual order.
Alternate alligation. [See Alligation.]
Alternate angles, in geometry, the internal angles made by a line cutting two parallels, and lying on opposite sides of the cutting line; the one below the first parallel, and the other above the second.
In heraldry, the first and fourth quarters, and the second and third, are usually of the same nature, and are called alternate quarters.
ALTERN'ATE, n. That which happens by turns with something else; vicissitude.
AL'TERNATE, v.t. [L. alterno. See Alter. With the accent on the second syllable, the participle alternating can hardly be pronounced.]
To perform by turns, or in succession; to cause to succeed by turns; to change one thing for another reciprocally; as, God alternates good and evil.
AL'TERNATE, v.i.
1. To happen or to act by turns; as, the flood and ebb tides alternate with each other.
2. To follow reciprocally in place.
Different species alternating with each other.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: every second one of a series; "the cleaning lady comes on alternate Wednesdays"; "jam every other day"- the White Queen
2: serving or used in place of another; "an alternative plan" [syn: alternate, alternative, substitute]
3: occurring by turns; first one and then the other; "alternating feelings of love and hate" [syn: alternate, alternating]
4: of leaves and branches etc; first on one side and then on the other in two ranks along an axis; not paired; "stems with alternate leaves" [ant: opposite, paired] n
1: someone who takes the place of another person [syn: surrogate, alternate, replacement] v
1: go back and forth; swing back and forth between two states or conditions [syn: alternate, jump]
2: exchange people temporarily to fulfill certain jobs and functions
3: be an understudy or alternate for a role [syn: understudy, alternate]
4: reverse (a direction, attitude, or course of action) [syn: interchange, tack, switch, alternate, flip, flip- flop]
5: do something in turns; "We take turns on the night shift" [syn: alternate, take turns]

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Etymology: Latin alternatus, past participle of alternare, from alternus alternate, from alter Date: 1513 1. occurring or succeeding by turns <a day of alternate sunshine and rain> 2. a. arranged first on one side and then on the other at different levels or points along an axial line <alternate leaves> — compare opposite b. arranged one above or alongside the other 3. every other ; every second <he works on alternate days> 4. constituting an alternative <took the alternate route home> 5. alternative 3 • alternately adverb II. verb (-nated; -nating) Date: 1599 transitive verb 1. to perform by turns or in succession 2. to cause to alternate intransitive verb to change from one to another repeatedly <rain alternated with sun> III. noun Date: 1717 1. alternative 2. one that substitutes for or alternates with another

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v., adj., & n. --v. 1 intr. (often foll. by with) (of two things) succeed each other by turns (rain and sunshine alternated; elation alternated with depression). 2 intr. (foll. by between) change repeatedly (between two conditions) (the patient alternated between hot and cold fevers). 3 tr. (often foll. by with) cause (two things) to succeed each other by turns (the band alternated fast and slow tunes; we alternated criticism with reassurance). --adj. 1 (with noun in pl.) every other (comes on alternate days). 2 (of things of two kinds) each following and succeeded by one of the other kind (alternate joy and misery). 3 (of a sequence etc.) consisting of alternate things. 4 Bot. (of leaves etc.) placed alternately on the two sides of the stem. 5 = ALTERNATIVE. --n. esp. US a deputy or substitute. Phrases and idioms: alternate angles two angles, not adjoining one another, that are formed on opposite sides of a line that intersects two other lines. alternating current an electric current that reverses its direction at regular intervals. Derivatives: alternately adv. Etymology: L alternatus past part. of alternare do things by turns f. alternus every other f. alter other

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Alternate Al*ter"nate (?; 277), a. [L. alternatus, p. p. of alternate, fr. alternus. See Altern, Alter.] 1. Being or succeeding by turns; one following the other in succession of time or place; by turns first one and then the other; hence, reciprocal. And bid alternate passions fall and rise. --Pope. 2. Designating the members in a series, which regularly intervene between the members of another series, as the odd or even numbers of the numerals; every other; every second; as, the alternate members 1, 3, 5, 7, etc.; read every alternate line. 3. (Bot.) Distributed, as leaves, singly at different heights of the stem, and at equal intervals as respects angular divergence. --Gray. Alternate alligation. See Alligation. Alternate angles (Geom.), the internal and angles made by two lines with a third, on opposite sides of it. It the parallels AB, CD, are cut by the line EF, the angles AGH, GHD, as also the angles BGH and GHC, are called alternate angles. Alternate generation. (Biol.) See under Generation.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Alternate Al*ter"nate (?; 277), n. 1. That which alternates with something else; vicissitude. [R.] Grateful alternates of substantial. --Prior. 2. A substitute; one designated to take the place of another, if necessary, in performing some duty. 3. (Math.) A proportion derived from another proportion by interchanging the means.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Alternate Al"ter*nate (?; 277), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Alternated; p. pr. & vb. n. Alternating.] [L. alternatus, p. p. of alternare. See Altern.] To perform by turns, or in succession; to cause to succeed by turns; to interchange regularly. The most high God, in all things appertaining unto this life, for sundry wise ends alternates the disposition of good and evil. --Grew.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Alternate Al"ter*nate, v. i. 1. To happen, succeed, or act by turns; to follow reciprocally in place or time; -- followed by with; as, the flood and ebb tides alternate with each other. Rage, shame, and grief alternate in his breast. --J. Philips. Different species alternating with each other. --Kirwan. 2. To vary by turns; as, the land alternates between rocky hills and sandy plains.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(alternated) 1. When you alternate two things, you keep using one then the other. When one thing alternates with another, the first regularly occurs after the other. Her aggressive moods alternated with gentle or more co-operative states... The three acts will alternate as headliners throughout the tour... Now you just alternate layers of that mixture and eggplant... The band alternated romantic love songs with bouncy dance numbers. V-RECIP: V between/with n, pl-n V, V pl-n, V n with n • alternation (alternations) The alternation of sun and snow continued for the rest of our holiday. N-VAR 2. Alternate actions, events, or processes regularly occur after each other. They were streaked with alternate bands of colour. ADJ: ADJ n • alternately He could alternately bully and charm people... ADV: ADV with v, ADV adj 3. If something happens on alternate days, it happens on one day, then happens on every second day after that. In the same way, something can happen in alternate weeks, years, or other periods of time. Lesley had agreed to Jim going skiing in alternate years. ADJ: ADJ n 4. You use alternate to describe a plan, idea, or system which is different from the one already in operation and can be used instead of it. His group was forced to turn back and take an alternate route. = alternative ADJ: ADJ n 5. An alternate is a person or thing that replaces another, and can act or be used instead of them. (AM) In most jurisdictions, twelve jurors and two alternates are chosen... = substitute N-COUNT 6. Alternate is sometimes used, especially in American English, instead of alternative in meanings 3, 4, and 5. ...an alternate lifestyle. ADJ: ADJ n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. a. 1. Reciprocal, one after another, in turn. 2. Every other, separated by one, succeeding each other with intervals of one, discontinuous by omission of one. 3. On different sides successively. II. v. n. Reciprocate, act interchangeably. III. v. a. Perform reciprocally, or by turns, or responsively, or by strophe and antistrophe.

Moby Thesaurus

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