instead

[ in-sted ]

adverb

1. as a substitute or replacement; in the place or stead of someone or something:

   We ordered tea but were served coffee instead.

2. in preference; as a preferred or accepted alternative:

   The city has its pleasures, but she wished instead for the quiet of country life.

instead

/ ɪnˈstɛd /

adverb

1. as a replacement, substitute, or alternative
2. instead of
   preposition in place of or as an alternative to

Word History and Origins

Origin of instead¹

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English; originally phrase in stead “in place”

Word History and Origins

Origin of instead¹

C13: from phrase in stead in place

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. instead of, in place of; in lieu of:

   You can use milk instead of cream in this recipe.

Example Sentences

Created by Joshua Zetumer, who adapts Patrick Radden Keefe‘s multiple award-winning 2018 nonfiction book, subtitled “A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland,” it focuses instead on a handful of characters, their activities and relationships.

From Los Angeles Times

A raw fable about looking up instead of feeling down, “Bird” shows writer-director Andrea Arnold back in a familiar milieu of cramped youth on the periphery, making do with what little is available, seesawing between explosive anger and playful respite.

From Los Angeles Times

Will those kinds of destabilizing gambits be on the table, or is Trump instead going to be stocking the administration with incompetent charlatans who, like him, are really more interested in posting on social media and seeing their faces on TV than in doing the nuts-and-bolts work of instituting authoritarianism in America?

From Slate

On starting the job, Rachael says she was not given any personal assistant work to do and instead felt like a "companion", attending dinners and "getting to know him".

From BBC

The latest homeless count did show some long-awaited progress: The number of unsheltered homeless people — those who live outside instead of in a shelter or other temporary housing— dropped 5% in the county and 10% in the city.

From Los Angeles Times