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Showing results for or else.
Definitions

or else

ADVERB
otherwise
Synonyms
STRONG
differently
WEAK
any other way at another time contrarily diversely elseways if not in different circumstances on the other hand or then under other conditions variously
CONJUNCTION
or
Synonyms
WEAK
as a choice as a substitute as an alternative conversely either in other words in preference to in turn on the other hand or but or only preferentially
Antonyms
WEAK
neither nor without choice

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“We have to protect it or else we lose the art form.”

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 16, 2026

But the companies still have to make money, Windsor said, or else “the whole proposition will grind to a halt while the market figures out the economic way forward.”

From MarketWatch • Feb. 2, 2026

The rest of the business would likely be sold to strategic buyers or else shut down, they said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 22, 2026

Meals that can be eaten in small portions, over time, without urgency — nothing that demands, You must eat this all right now or else — are ideal.

From Salon • Jan. 19, 2026

We children tiptoed around them or else played in the farthest reaches of the yard, our voices dulled lest they incite our parents.

From "When I Was Puerto Rican" by Esmeralda Santiago