alternation
Back and forth
Alternation is the act or pattern of switching back and forth between two or more things.
Traffic lights cycle through alternation of colors.
In conversation, alternation of speakers creates natural rhythm.
The word emphasizes regularity and recurrence: the alternation of day and night, alternation between hope and despair.
In biology, alternation of generations describes organisms that cycle between reproductive forms.
Vowel gradation in morphology
- morphologyStudy of structural forms
- inflectionWord form alteration
- conjugationVerb form variation system
- declensionNoun form variation
umlaut · grammatical · paradigm · gradation
What takes another's place
- exchangeMutual giving and receiving
- swapExchange one for another
- interchangeReciprocal transfer between parties
- tradeExchange of commodities
transposition · shift · changeover · commutation · supplanting · proxy · stand-in · interchangeability
Repeated back-and-forth movement
- rotationTurning on an axis
- successionFollowing in order
- periodicityRecurring at regular intervals
- recurrenceReturn of something previous
fluctuation · pendulum · wave · swing · circuit · revolving · spiral · orbit
Irregular change over time
- variabilityTendency to change
- modulationVarying signals to transmit
- shiftMovement or work period
- changeTo make different
deviation · mutation · transformation · oscillation · wavering · inconsistency · irregularity · variance
Following in order
- seriationSequential arrangement by attribute
- progressionSequential forward movement
- patterningSystematic arrangement creation
- sequencingDetermining element order
arrangement · order · chain · staggering · zigzag · leapfrogging · sawtooth · interleaving
Adjacent contrasting placement
- dichotomyDivision into contrasting parts
- polarityState of opposing forces
- oppositionActive resistance or dissent
- dualityTwofold nature
antithesis · difference · distinction · binary · counterpoint · pairing · balance · symmetry
ablaut
Vowel gradation in morphology
- morphologyStudy of structural forms
- inflectionWord form alteration
- conjugationVerb form variation system
declension · umlaut · grammatical · paradigm · gradation
replacement
What takes another's place
- exchangeMutual giving and receiving
- swapExchange one for another
- interchangeReciprocal transfer between parties
trade · transposition · shift · changeover · commutation · supplanting · proxy · stand-in · interchangeability · reciprocity
oscillation
Repeated back-and-forth movement
- rotationTurning on an axis
- successionFollowing in order
- periodicityRecurring at regular intervals
recurrence · fluctuation · pendulum · wave · swing · circuit · revolving · spiral · orbit · circulation
fluctuation
Irregular change over time
- variabilityTendency to change
- modulationVarying signals to transmit
- shiftMovement or work period
change · deviation · mutation · transformation · oscillation · wavering · inconsistency · irregularity · variance · modification
succession
Following in order
- seriationSequential arrangement by attribute
- progressionSequential forward movement
- patterningSystematic arrangement creation
sequencing · arrangement · order · chain · staggering · zigzag · leapfrogging · sawtooth · interleaving · back-and-forth
juxtaposition
Adjacent contrasting placement
- dichotomyDivision into contrasting parts
- polarityState of opposing forces
- oppositionActive resistance or dissent
duality · antithesis · difference · distinction · binary · counterpoint · pairing · balance · symmetry · complementarity
- sound changesassimilation, elision, deletion, voicing, nasalization
- patternspattern, chevron, geometric pattern, stripes, plaid
- changeschange, shift, alter, transformation, modify
- cycleslife cycle, cycle, circle of life, cycles, period
- crosswordsacross, cryptic, acrostic, clues, codeword
- pattern traitsregularity, symmetry, repetition, uniformity, variation
alternationsimultaneity
State of coexisting temporally
concurrence · simultaneousness · synchronization · coincidence · synchrony
alternationconstancy
Unchanging faithfulness over time
continuity · uniformity · invariability · consistency · sameness
alternationunison
Simultaneous identical action
concert · randomness · simultaneity · clustering · convergence
- no alternativeSole available course
- alternative routeSecondary path available
- alternative universeHypothetical divergent reality
- alternative rockNon-mainstream guitar-driven genre
- alternating currentPeriodically reversing electrical flow
- alternative energyNon-fossil fuel sources
alternative, alternating, alternatives, alternatively, alternations, alternative medicine, alternative rock, alternative energy