alternation

UK: /ˌɔːltə^rˈneɪʃ^ən/ US: (ôl′tər nā′shən, al′-)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

al•ter•na•tion  (ôl′tər nā′shən, al′-), n. 

1. the act or process of alternating or the state of being alternated.
2. alternate succession;
   repeated rotation:
   the alternation of the seasons.
3. Electricity a single fluctuation in the absolute value of an alternating current or voltage from zero to a maximum and back to zero, being equal to one half cycle.
4. Linguistics variation in the form of a linguistic unit as it occurs in different environments or under different conditions, as between the -ed and -en forms of the past participle in danced and spoken or between the (t) and (d) pronunciations of the past tense suffix -ed in hopped and rubbed.

• Late Latin alternātiōn- (stem of alternātiō). See alternate, -ion
• 1605–15