ao invés de

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Portuguese

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

 
 

Preposition

ao invés de

  1. (literally) contrarily, conversely; in the opposite sense
    Ele não prejudicou o projeto. Ao invés disso, ajudou.
    He didn't harm the project. Contrarily, he helped.
  2. (proscribed) instead of; in lieu of; in place of; rather than
    Synonym: em vez de
    Vou beber chá ao invés de café.
    I will have tea instead of coffee.

Usage notes

Literally it bears a sense of opposition, but in informal usage it has been conflated with the similar sounding em vez de (instead of). This second sense should be avoided in contexts where formality or clarity is expected.

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:ao invés de.