alternation
noun
al·ter·na·tion ˌȯl-tər-ˈnā-shən 
also ˌal-
1
a
: the act or process of alternating or causing to alternate
b
: alternating occurrence : succession
2
: inclusive disjunction
3
: the occurrence of different allomorphs or allophones
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web Police were sent to a parking lot outside the Hive, a restaurant and karaoke bar on Convoy Street in Kearny Mesa, where an alternation reportedly occurred. 
Tammy Murga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Sep. 2022 The alternation gives Murnane’s writing its distinctive hypnotic rhythm—a quality almost as important to him as grammar. Merve Emre, The New Yorker, 25 July 2022 In her alternation of stories, Byatt created a kinship, and a narrative equivalency, among princess, peasant, prostitute and professor. Bonnie Johnson, Los Angeles Times, 26 Aug. 2022 The group-solo alternation works best before a section in which Aparna enacts a poem about being abandoned at the seaside. New York Times, 24 July 2022 The formal structure is modelled on the basin-and-range topography of western North America, with its relentless alternation of mountain uplift and desert flats. Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 16 May 2022 That push and pull, like the alternation of clarity and opacity in his biography, also haunts his pictures. Susan Tallman, The Atlantic, 6 Apr. 2022 In linguistics, code-switching (or language alternation) occurs when a speaker alternates between two or more languages, or language varieties, in the context of a single conversation or situation. Chadd Scott, Forbes, 13 Mar. 2022 Yes, there can be legitimate alternation between parties and governing ideologies. Damon Linker, The Week, 15 Feb. 2022 See More
Tammy Murga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Sep. 2022 The alternation gives Murnane’s writing its distinctive hypnotic rhythm—a quality almost as important to him as grammar. Merve Emre, The New Yorker, 25 July 2022 In her alternation of stories, Byatt created a kinship, and a narrative equivalency, among princess, peasant, prostitute and professor. Bonnie Johnson, Los Angeles Times, 26 Aug. 2022 The group-solo alternation works best before a section in which Aparna enacts a poem about being abandoned at the seaside. New York Times, 24 July 2022 The formal structure is modelled on the basin-and-range topography of western North America, with its relentless alternation of mountain uplift and desert flats. Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 16 May 2022 That push and pull, like the alternation of clarity and opacity in his biography, also haunts his pictures. Susan Tallman, The Atlantic, 6 Apr. 2022 In linguistics, code-switching (or language alternation) occurs when a speaker alternates between two or more languages, or language varieties, in the context of a single conversation or situation. Chadd Scott, Forbes, 13 Mar. 2022 Yes, there can be legitimate alternation between parties and governing ideologies. Damon Linker, The Week, 15 Feb. 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
Middle English alternacioun, borrowed from Anglo-French, borrowed from Latin alternātiōn-, alternātiō, from alternāre "to ebb and flow, act in alternation, arrange in alternating order" + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of verbal action — more at alternate entry 1
First Known Use
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Phrases Containing alternation
Kids Definition
alternation
noun
al·ter·na·tion ˌȯl-tər-ˈnā-shən
: the act, process, or result of taking place by turns
alternation of light and dark