opted

Meanings

1. 1verbintransitive

   Chose one thing from several possibilities.

   Grammar: Past tense of opt; no direct object, usually followed by for or to: opted for the cheaper plan, opted to stay.

   Patterns

   • opted for something
   • opted to do something

   She opted for the vegetarian meal.

   After thinking it over, they opted to wait another week.

   He opted for early retirement.

2. 2verbphrasal verb

   Chose to join or to leave a scheme or arrangement, in the phrases opted in and opted out.

   Grammar: Used with in or out, often followed by of or to: opted out of the program.

   Patterns

   • opted out of something
   • opted in to something

   Several parents opted out of the school trip.

   I opted in to the weekly newsletter by mistake.

   The company opted out of the agreement.

Common combinations

opted for

We opted for the cheaper hotel.

opted to

She opted to take the train instead of driving.

opted out of

He opted out of the pension plan.

opted in

Users who opted in receive weekly updates.

wisely opted

They wisely opted for caution.

Synonyms and how they differ

chose

Chose is the everyday word and can take a direct object, while opted always needs for or to.

selected

Selected is more formal and suggests picking from a defined group after careful comparison.

decided

Decided can refer to making any decision, not just picking between options.

went for

Went for is informal and slightly more casual than opted for.

Opposites

Word family

opt verb

to make a choice

option noun

a choice available to someone

optional adjective

not required, left to choice

optionally adverb

as a matter of choice

Commonly confused: opted or adopted?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “opted”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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