Alternative is used to describe something that is different from the usual things of its kind, or the usual ways of doing something, in modern Western society. For example, an alternative lifestyle does not follow conventional ways of living and working. unconventional parents who embraced the alternative lifestyle of the Sixties conventional
necessitating a choice between mutually exclusive possibilities; "`either' and `or' in `either this or that'"
If one thing is an alternative to another, the first can be found, used, or done instead of the second. New ways to treat arthritis may provide an alternative to painkillers
necessitating a choice between mutually exclusive possibilities; "`either' and `or' in `either this or that'" pertaining to unconventional choices; "an alternative life style