electively

adverb

as in either

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of electively The majority of women who freeze their eggs electively are White and well-resourced. — Lesley Stahl, CBS News, 31 May 2026 Where Your Insurance Likely Stands For most women freezing eggs electively, insurance won’t cover the procedure. — Allison Palmer, Kansas City Star, 8 Apr. 2026 Pfizer and AstraZeneca recently agreed to lower the cost of prescription drugs for Medicaid after an executive order in May set a deadline for drugmakers to electively lower prices or face new limits on what the government will pay. — Staff, Twin Cities, 6 Nov. 2025 Both agreements, however, build on an executive order Trump signed in May that set a deadline for drugmakers to electively lower prices or face new limits on what the government will pay. — Arkansas Online, 12 Oct. 2025 The agreement by Pfizfer builds on an executive order Trump signed in May setting a deadline for drugmakers to electively lower prices or face new limits on what the government will pay. — Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune, 30 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for electively
  1. either
  2. optionally
  3. instead
  4. alternately
  5. alternatively
Adverb
  • Since a quantum sensor does not need to receive or send a signal to an external device, it cannot be hacked or be spoofed by a fake incoming signal either.
    — Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 28 Aug. 2026
  • The Steinway Society is a group focused on spreading the gift of music by providing piano lessons — and pianos themselves — to kids who might not otherwise be able to afford either.
    — Scott Maxwell, The Orlando Sentinel, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of either
Adverb
  • Radica then offers both single and double lower sleeper platforms optionally so buyers can set up a lower bed for one or two people.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 1 Sep. 2026
  • This includes cameras, microphones, and optionally radar, which watch the surrounding area in all directions.
    — Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of optionally
Adverb
  • So when Billie and Issa get an actual offer for drinks with two firefighters who come to the house, Billie puts on a goofy British accent à la Issa and turns them down, choosing a quiet night at home with her friend instead.
    — Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 28 Aug. 2026
  • On September 6, 1901, a setting intended to showcase the thrill of a new century instead became the scene of a presidential assassination.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of instead
Adverb
  • With action that’s alternately jaw-dropping and campy, the newest Street Fighter will punch and kick its way into theaters nearly 40 years after the franchise first launched.
    — Jack Smart, PEOPLE, 1 Sep. 2026
  • The Supreme Court has been a fitful friend to Trump in his second term, alternately enabling and impeding him.
    — Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of alternately
Adverb
  • Yust seeks a new trial or, alternatively, a new sentencing hearing.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 2 Sep. 2026
  • Witness the Cold War speculation in the 1950s that adding fluoride to drinking water was, alternatively, a Communist plot or a CIA mind-control experiment.
    — Susan Page, USA Today, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of alternatively

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elective
electively
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Cite this Entry

“Electively.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/electively. Accessed 4 Sep. 2026.

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