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
  • In an example video, Google demonstrates how the user can speak long, complex instructions, optionally referring to files on the local computer, and have Gemini synthesize a response directly into a document or email.
    — Paul Monckton, Forbes.com, 29 July 2026
  • This partnership is set to provide a means of churning out large numbers of autonomous or optionally crewed ships in American shipyards.
    — Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 26 July 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
  • The Islamic Republic has alternately—or simultaneously—behaved like a cause and a rational nation.
    — Nate Swanson, Foreign Affairs, 25 Aug. 2026
  • The $4 billion white steel, glass, and marble design by the Spanish Swiss architect Santiago Calatrava — alternately compared to a cathedral and a whale carcass — looks and feels like nothing else on the planet, much less a mall.
    — Anne Kadet, Curbed, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of alternately
Adverb
  • Accessed by some steps between the bathroom and bedroom, it's shown here furnished with a couple of single beds but could alternatively be used to stash belongings or as a kid's room or general hangout space.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Might that be because this particular partner would include politicians prone to grandstanding — or, alternatively, focused more on mundane issues such as schools and crime than on horse racing?
    — Stephen J. K. Walters, Baltimore Sun, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of alternatively

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electively
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Cite this Entry

“Electively.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/electively. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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