{
    "term": "alternative",
    "partOfSpeech": "noun",
    "academic": true,
    "ox3000": true,
    "cefr": "a2",
    "definitions": [
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "a thing that you can choose to do or have out of two or more possibilities",
            "sensetop": "alternative to somethingas an alternative to somethingalternative for somebody",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "The car is too expensive so we're trying to find a cheaper alternative."
                },
                {
                    "text": "There is a vegetarian alternative on the menu every day."
                },
                {
                    "text": "We **had no alternative but to** fire Gibson."
                },
                {
                    "text": "to **offer/provide an alternative**"
                },
                {
                    "text": "Does this offer a **viable alternative** to the existing system?",
                    "contextForm": "alternative to something"
                },
                {
                    "text": "Fruit juice is provided as an alternative to alcoholic drinks.",
                    "contextForm": "as an alternative to something"
                },
                {
                    "text": "This treatment is the **only alternative** for some patients.",
                    "contextForm": "alternative for somebody"
                },
                {
                    "text": "His idea seemed to offer a possible alternative."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Is there an alternative to surgery for this complaint?"
                },
                {
                    "text": "There is no alternative for those with no car of their own."
                },
                {
                    "text": "They are seeking alternatives to fossil fuels."
                },
                {
                    "text": "We'll have to find an alternative."
                },
                {
                    "text": "a healthier alternative to fizzy drinks"
                },
                {
                    "text": "seeking alternatives to nuclear power"
                },
                {
                    "text": "We can agree to their terms or else pull out of the deal completely: those are the two alternatives."
                }
            ],
            "topics": ["Preferences and decisions"],
            "collocations": {
                "adjective": ["attractive", "effective", "good"],
                "verb + alternative": ["have", "offer", "provide"],
                "alternative + verb": ["be available", "exist"],
                "preposition": ["alternative for", "alternative to"],
                "phrases": [
                    "have little alternative (but to)",
                    "have no alternative (but to)",
                    "leave somebody with no alternative (but to)"
                ]
            }
        }
    ],
    "pronunciations": {
        "uk": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ɔːlˈtɜːnətɪv/",
                "audio": "al/alternative/alternative__gb_3.mp3"
            }
        ],
        "us": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ɔːlˈtɜːrnətɪv/",
                "audio": "al/alternative/alternative__us_1.mp3"
            }
        ]
    },
    "wordOrigin": "mid 16th cent. (in the sense ‘alternating, alternate’): from French alternatif, -ive or medieval Latin alternativus, from Latin alternare ‘interchange’, from alternus ‘every other’, from alter ‘other’."
}