instead of

English

Etymology

From Middle English in stede of, in stude of (“instead of”, literally “in stead of, in place of”), equivalent to in +‎ stead +‎ of. Cognate with Saterland Frisian insteede, ansteede (“instead of”), West Frisian ynstee (“instead of”), German anstatt (von) (“instead of”), Danish i stedet (“instead of”).

Preposition

instead of

1. In lieu of; in place of; rather than.

   He walked to school instead of taking the car.

   • 1611, The Holy Bible,  (King James Version), London: Robert Barker, , →OCLC, Exodus 4:16:

     And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people: and he shall be, even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God.

   • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter V, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:

     Then we relapsed into a discomfited silence, and wished we were anywhere else. But Miss Thorn relieved the situation by laughing aloud, and with such a hearty enjoyment that instead of getting angry and more mortified we began to laugh ourselves, and instantly felt better.

Usage notes

• Instead of is always followed by a noun, pronoun or gerund.

Translations

Anagrams

• Distefano