alternate
10
3.9
- adjective
- /ˈɔːltərnɪt/
- The seasons change in an alternate pattern, switching from summer to winter.
- alternate days
- alternate weeks
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Watch on YouTubeThere is alternate day fasting, twice weekly fasting.
- There is alternate day fasting, twice weekly fasting.
Examples
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We will meet on alternate Tuesdays to discuss the project.
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There is alternate day fasting, twice weekly fasting.
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It's an alternate reality game.
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Motorists are advised to use alternate routes.
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Alternate weekends, alternate vacations, one month in the summer.
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And so you're now trying to find an alternate path to companionship.
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Fourth graders participate in tumbling and martial arts on alternate days and basketball every day.
Academic text (2006) -
In this game, players use alternate strategies to keep things interesting.
Synonyms
15
3.9
Happening one after another, like day then night
Antonyms
How Often
157
3.7
∞
1.0
10
3.9
36
6.5
257
2.8
34
7.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
alternate = altern + ate
The sense 'every other/in turn' directly matches the combining form 'altern-' plus the adjectival/verb-forming suffix '-ate', so learners can derive the meaning from the base idea of alternating.
Etymology
Alternate comes from the Latin root alter, which means 'other', so think of a pattern of 'one, then the other'. That is why alternate often means happening 'every other' time or in a regular turn.