noun. Successive change from one thing or state to another and back again.

noun. In phytogeography, the discontinuous occurrence of a plant type due to local variations in the conditions. See the extract.

noun. In electricity, the time of one reversal, or one half-wave of alternating current. One alternation therefore is one half-cycle. The frequency of an alternating current formerly was given in alternations per minute. See alternating.

noun. The act of alternating, or the state of being alternate; the reciprocal succession of things in time or place, or of states or actions; the act of following something and being in turn followed by it: as, the alternation of day and night, cold and heat, summer and winter.

noun. Passage back and forth; repeated transition; the action of going from one state, condition, or point to another, and back again, indefinitely: as, alternation between states of mind or between places; his alternations from one point to the other were very frequent.

noun. In mathematics: The different changes or alterations of order in numbers. More commonly called permutation.

noun. Alternate proportion (which see, under alternate, a.).

noun. 4. In church ritual, the saying or reading of parts of a service by minister and congregation alternately.

noun. The reciprocal succession of things in time or place; the act of following and being followed by turns; alternate succession, performance, or occurrence.

noun. Permutation.

noun. The response of the congregation speaking alternately with the minister.

noun. See under Generation.

noun. The reciprocal succession of (normally two) things in time or place; the act of following and being followed by turns; alternate succession, performance, or occurrence; as, the alternation of day and night, cold and heat, summer and winter, hope and fear.

noun. The response of the congregation speaking alternately with the minister.

noun. ablaut

noun. The "inclusive or" truth function.

noun. A sequence that alternates between positive and negative values. (Sometimes wrongly used to mean a permutation.)

noun. successive change from one thing or state to another and back again

"A NI posting has been, in recent years, a doddle for most squaddies, especially when the alternative, the alternation is a spell in Basra or Helmand."

alternation of generation  antithetic alternation  generations  homologous alternation of generations  reciprocation  

sequence  succession  

abruptness  attrition  cadence  collocation  crescendo  

Lissajous figure  back-and-forth  battledore and shuttlecock  beat  chain