Meaning & use
alternative lifestyles
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Meanings
nounusually plural
Ways of living that differ from the usual or traditional pattern in a society, for instance in how people work, live together or spend their time.
Grammar: Usually plural, but one way of living is an alternative lifestyle.
Patterns
- choose alternative lifestyles
- tolerance of alternative lifestyles
The town is known for its tolerance of alternative lifestyles.
Some people turn to alternative lifestyles such as living off the grid.
The documentary explores alternative lifestyles in rural communities.
nounusually pluralold-fashioned
A broad and sometimes dated way of describing ways of life that are outside social expectations, especially involving relationships or identity.
Grammar: Can sound vague or dated; newer writing tends to be more specific.
Patterns
- accept alternative lifestyles
The magazine once wrote about alternative lifestyles in big cities.
Schools should teach respect for different families and alternative lifestyles.
Word forms
| singular | alternative lifestyle |
|---|
Common combinations
- embrace alternative lifestyles
- The community embraces alternative lifestyles.
- choose an alternative lifestyle
- They chose an alternative lifestyle on a houseboat.
- tolerate alternative lifestyles
- Not every village tolerates alternative lifestyles.
- promote alternative lifestyles
- The festival promotes sustainable and alternative lifestyles.
- alternative lifestyle choices
- Alternative lifestyle choices can include minimalism and communal living.
Synonyms and how they differ
- unconventional lifestyles
- Unconventional lifestyles stresses breaking from convention, while alternative lifestyles is the standard phrase in news and sociology.
- countercultures
- Countercultures are organized movements opposing mainstream culture, so it is narrower than alternative lifestyles.
- nonconformist ways of living
- This stresses rejecting social expectations, whereas alternative lifestyles is more neutral.
- diverse lifestyles
- Diverse lifestyles describes variety in general, while alternative lifestyles contrasts with a mainstream norm.
Opposites
Word family
- alternative adjective
- different from the usual or main choice
- alternative noun
- another choice
- lifestyle noun
- the way a person or group lives
- alternatively adverb
- as another option
Commonly confused: alternative lifestyles or alternate lifestyles?
alternative lifestyles vs alternate lifestyles
Alternate means taking turns or every other one, so alternative is the correct word for a different way of living.
Practice
The festival celebrates sustainable and ___ lifestyles.
Choose one answer.
Alternative means different from the usual, which suits ways of living. Alternate means taking turns or every second one, so it is the tempting but wrong word.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “alternative lifestyles”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.