alternately

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UK[ɔːlˈtɜɹnətlɪ]UK/ɔlˈtə(ɹ)nətliː/US/ˈɔl.tɚ.nət.li/

adverb

In reciprocal succession; succeeding by turns; in alternate order.

“Driving downtown is restricted to bikes with odd and even license plate numbers alternately by day of the month.”

Less commonScrabble 14

Meanings

adverbalternately (not comparable)
  1. not comparableIn reciprocal succession; succeeding by turns; in alternate order.

    Driving downtown is restricted to bikes with odd and even license plate numbers alternately by day of the month.

    4 more examples

    All night Katerina and I watched alternately, though, I shame to say, I slept more than I watched; and, having first ascertained that there was no change, I came directly hither.

    1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter IX, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume II, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 102

    Tired with the heat and my walk, I threw myself down on the grass in the shadow of the house, where I lay half-asleep enjoying a quiet rest, when I was startled by an unpleasant clamour, the jarring voice of a woman, who was trying by alternately scolding and using pet names to pacify a litter of grunting pigs on the farm.

    1886, Peter Christen Asbjø￵rnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 278

    Well, I can't help noticing that you insult me and then you're polite to me alternately.

    1970, “The Butcher Who is Alternately Rude and Polite”, in Monty Python's Flying Circus, season 2, episode 5, spoken by Customer (Michael Palin)

    The 2025 timetable would feature two trains per hour, alternately routed via Kirkcaldy (with 11 intermediate stops) and Dunfermline (14 stops), with journey times ranging between 65 and 81 minutes.

    2023 November 1, Robert Drysdale, “Leven is nearly back on track...”, in RAIL, number 995, page 58

    Synonyms: alternatingly

  2. not comparablemathematicsBy alternation; when, in a proportion, the antecedent term is compared with antecedent, and consequent.
  3. CanadaUSnot comparableproscribedsometimesAlternatively.

    Westerners have never quite understood the reverence in Japan for fugu, alternately known in English as puffer fish, globefish or blowfish, of the family Tetraodontidae.

    2020 December 4, Ligaya Mishan, “The Appealing and Potentially Lethal Delicacy That Is Fugu”, in The New York Times Style Magazine
    1 more example

    Downstairs, he was informed. That is, down the escalators, where there is both a women’s room (often with a line) and a men’s room (almost never with a line). Or alternately, he could ask the station master to buzz him into the “family” bathroom. He opted to go downstairs.

    2008 July 18, Jennifer 8. Lee, “A ‘Women Only’ Restroom Renovation Tips the Balance at Grand Central”, in The New York Times

Synonyms & antonyms

adverbIn reciprocal succession; succeeding by turns; in alternate order.

Origin

Translations

Czech střídavě
  • střídavěsucceeding by turns
Danish vekselvis
  • vekselvissucceeding by turns
Dutch beurtelings
  • beurtelingssucceeding by turns
Esperanto alterne
  • alternesucceeding by turns
Finnish vuorotellen
  • vuorotellensucceeding by turns
French alternativement
  • alternativementsucceeding by turns
German abwechselnd, wechselweise
  • abwechselndsucceeding by turns
  • wechselweisesucceeding by turns
  • abwechslungsweisesucceeding by turns
Hungarian felváltva
  • felváltvasucceeding by turns
Italian alternatamente
  • alternatamentesucceeding by turns
Japanese かわるがわるに, 交互に
  • かわるがわるに (kawaru ga waru ni)succeeding by turns
  • 交互に (kōgo ni)succeeding by turns
Latin alternātim
  • alternātimsucceeding by turns
Norwegian Bokmål vekselvis
  • vekselvissucceeding by turns
Polish naprzemiennie, na zmianę
  • naprzemienniesucceeding by turns
  • na zmianęsucceeding by turns
  • przemienniesucceeding by turns
Portuguese alternadamente
  • alternadamentesucceeding by turns
Russian поочерёдно
  • поочерёдно (poočerjódno)succeeding by turns
Scottish Gaelic mu seach
  • mu seachsucceeding by turns
Spanish alternativamente, por turno
  • alternativamentesucceeding by turns
  • por turnosucceeding by turns
Swedish växelvis, ömsevis
  • växelvissucceeding by turns
  • ömsevissucceeding by turns
Ukrainian по че́рзі, почерго́во
  • по че́рзі (po čérzi)succeeding by turns
  • почерго́во (počerhóvo)succeeding by turns
Welsh bob yn ail
  • bob yn ailsucceeding by turns
Cite this entry
APA

alternately. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/alternately

MLA

“alternately.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/alternately. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “alternately,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/alternately.

Source: alternately on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.