instead

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English

Alternative forms

Etymology

in +‎ stead, from Middle English ine (“in”) + stede (“stead”). Related to German statt.

Pronunciation

  • enPR: ĭn-stěd', IPA(key): /ɪnˈstɛd/
  • Audio (US)(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɛd

Adverb

instead (not comparable)

  1. In the place of something (usually mentioned earlier); as a substitute or alternative.
    I was going to go shopping, but I went dancing instead.
    • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 5, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
      ‘It's rather like a beautiful Inverness cloak one has inherited. Much too good to hide away, so one wears it instead of an overcoat and pretends it's an amusing new fashion.’
    • 2013 June 28, Joris Luyendijk, “Our banks are out of control”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 3, page 21:
      Seeing the British establishment struggle with the financial sector is like watching an alcoholic […].  Until 2008 there was denial over what finance had become. […]  But the scandals kept coming, […]. A broad section of the political class now recognises the need for change but remains unable to see the necessity of a fundamental overhaul. Instead it offers fixes and patches.

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