WordWeb Online

1. Occurring by turns; first one and then the other
   "alternating feelings of love and hate";
   - alternate
    
2. (of a current) reversing direction
   "alternating current"

1. Go back and forth; swing back and forth between two states or conditions
   - jump
    
2. Exchange people temporarily to fulfil certain jobs and functions
    
3. Be an understudy or alternate for a role
   - understudy
    
4. Reverse (a direction, attitude, or course of action)
   - interchange, tack, switch, flip, flip-flop
    
5. Do something in turns
   "We alternate on the night shift";
   - take turns

See also: cyclic, cyclical

Type of: act, alter, change, change by reversal, con [archaic], exchange, learn, memorise [Brit], memorize, move, reverse, turn, vary

Antonym: direct

Encyclopedia: Alternating