or else
English
Pronunciation
Conjunction
or else
- Otherwise or as an alternative.
Go now, or else you'll have to stay all night.
c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire; London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act (please specify |act=I or II), scene ii:If you wil willingly remaine with me,
You ſhall haue honors, as your merits be:
Or els you ſhal be forc’d with ſlauerie.
c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i]:He shall do this, or else I do recant / The pardon that I late pronounced here.
Translations
as an alternative
- Amharic: ያለዚያ (yaläziya)
- Arabic: بِطَرِيقَة أُخْرَى (bi-ṭarīqa ʔuḵrā), وَإِلَّا (wa-ʔillā)
- Armenian: այլապես (hy) (aylapes), թե չէ (tʻe čʻē)
- Azerbaijani: əks təqdirdə, yoxsa (az), ya da (az)
- Chinese:
- Mandarin: 要不然 (zh) (yàobùrán), 要不 (zh) (yàobù), 不然 (zh) (bùrán), 否則 / 否则 (zh) (fǒuzé)
- Danish: ellers
- Estonian: või muidu (et), vastasel juhul
- Finnish: tai muuten, muutoin (fi)
- French: sinon (fr), autrement (fr)
- Georgian: თუარადა (tuarada), თორემ (torem), წინააღმდეგ შემთხვევაში (c̣inaaɣmdeg šemtxvevaši) (slightly formal)
- German: sonst (de), anders (de), andernfalls (de)
- Greek: ειδάλλως (el) (eidállos)
- Ancient Greek: εἰ δὲ μή γε (ei dè mḗ ge)
- Hebrew: אוֹ שֶׁ (o she), וָלֹא (való), אַחֶרֶת (aẖéret)
- Hindi: वरना (hi) (varnā)
- Hungarian: vagy pedig, máskülönben (hu), különben (hu), ellenkező esetben
- Icelandic: annars (is), ella (is)
- Ingrian: muites, too
- Italian: altrimenti (it), sennò (it)
- Japanese: そうでなければ (sō de wa nakereba), 或いは (ja) (あるいは, arui wa), もしくは (ja) (moshiku wa), さもないと (samonai to)
- Kurdish:
- Central Kurdish: دەنا (dena)
- Latin: aliōquī
- Lithuanian: arba (lt), nes kitaip
- Marathi: नाहीतर (mr) (nāhītar), अन्यथा (anyathā)
- Mari:
- Eastern Mari: ато (ato)
- Norwegian: ellers (no), hvis ikke
- Persian: وگرنه (fa) (vagarna)
- Polish: bo inaczej, bo (pl), inaczej (pl)
- Portuguese: senão (pt), caso contrário
- Romanian: că (ro) (colloquial), că de nu, (sau) altfel
- Russian: ина́че (ru) (ináče), и́наче (ru) (ínače), а то (ru) (a to), а не то́ (ru) (a ne tó) (also a threat), в проти́вном слу́чае (ru) (v protívnom slúčaje)
- Spanish: de lo contrario, si no, otramente (old-fashioned)
- Swedish: annars (sv), annars så
- Tibetan: དེ་མིན (de min), ཡང་ན (yang na)
- Urdu: ورنہ (ur) (varnā), وگرنہ (vagarnā)
|
Phrase
or else
- (idiomatic) Implies an unspecified threat if a preceding command is not fulfilled.
Clean up your room, or else! "You’d better not" "Or else?"
2022 June 1, Ryan Mac, “Elon Musk to Workers: Spend 40 Hours in the Office, or Else”, in The New York Times[1], →ISSN:Elon Musk to Workers: Spend 40 Hours in the Office, or Else [title]
2024 March 9, Jacob Bernstein, “A Former Trump Aide Becomes a Liberal Favorite”, in The New York Times[2], →ISSN:Joy Behar, who has called the MAGA movement a cult, poked her head into the room and demonstrated how invested she was in Ms. Farah Griffin’s success by offering some advice aimed squarely at me: “Be nice — or else.”
Translations
implies an unspecified threat Anagrams
|