else

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Pronunciation

• (RP, America) IPA: /ɛls/
• (colloquial) IPA: /ɛlts/

Adjective

else (not comparable)

1. (postpositive, used only with indefinite or interrogative pronouns) Other; in addition to previously mentioned items.

   The instructor is busy. Can anyone else help me?

   • circa 1610-11 William Shakespeare, The Tempest, Act I scene ii:

     smallcaps Prospero:

     Thou hast done well, fine Ariel. Follow me;

     Hark what thou else shalt do me.

Translations

• French: d'autre
• German: (following pronouns) anders; sonst; (otherwise) anderer
• Portuguese: mais
• Russian: ещё
• Spanish: más

Adverb

else (not comparable)

1. (follows interrogative adverbs) Otherwise, if not.

   How else (=in what other way) can it be done?

   I'm busy Friday; when else (=what other time) works for you?

Synonyms

• otherwise

Translations

• French: sinon, autrement
• German: sonst, anders, andernfalls, ansonsten
• Italian: altro
• Portuguese: senão, em vez de, além disso
• Russian: ина́че
• Spanish: más, sino

Translations

• German: else, sonst
• Italian: altrimenti
• Portuguese: senão
• Spanish: sino

Conjunction

1. For otherwise; or else.

   Then the Wronskian of f and g must be nonzero, else they could not be linearly independent.

   • 1903, Jack London, The Call of the Wild, Grosset & Dunlap, page 44 ↗:

     […] and his first experience taught him an unforgetable lesson. It is true, it was a vicarious experience, else he would not have lived to profit by it.

2. (computing, in many programming languages and pseudocode) but if the condition of the previous if clause is false, do the following.

Translations

• Portuguese: senão
• Spanish: sino

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