overwordExplorer
ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

otherwise.

Differently, in another way.

9 characters3 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

adv/ˈʌð.əˌwaɪz/UK/ˈʌð.ɚˌwaɪz/General-American
  1. Differently, in another way.

    not-comparable
    You may have a point, but I think otherwise.
    Do you want the newest items put up top, or do you want it done otherwise?
  2. In different circumstances; or else.

    conjunctive · not-comparable
    I’m not well today, otherwise I would have helped.
    You have to open your umbrella, otherwise you'll get wet.
  3. In all other respects; apart from that; except for this.

    conjunctive · not-comparable
    He lost his temper once in a while. Otherwise he behaved rationally.
    There was one rotten apple in an otherwise perfect batch.
Where this word comes from

From Middle English otherwise, othre wise, from Old English on ōþre wīsan (literally “in (on) other/different manner”); equivalent to other + -wise. Compare West Frisian yn oarwei (“otherwise”), Icelandic öðruvísi (“different”).

adj/ˈʌð.əˌwaɪz/UK/ˈʌð.ɚˌwaɪz/General-American
  1. Other than supposed; different.

    not-comparable
    He said he didn’t do it, but the evidence was otherwise.
    Statistics need lots of information, digital and otherwise.
Where this word comes from

From Middle English otherwise, othre wise, from Old English on ōþre wīsan (literally “in (on) other/different manner”); equivalent to other + -wise. Compare West Frisian yn oarwei (“otherwise”), Icelandic öðruvísi (“different”).

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.