Otherwise

• POS: Adjective, Conjunction, Pronoun, Adverb
• HYPHEN: oth=er=wise

CIDE DICTIONARY

Otherwise, adv. [Other + wise manner.].

•  In a different manner; in another way, or in other ways; differently; contrarily.  Chaucer.  [1913 Webster]

  "Thy father was a worthy prince,
  And merited, alas! a better fate;
  But Heaven thought otherwise."  [1913 Webster]
•  In other respects.  [1913 Webster]

  "It is said, truly, that the best men otherwise are not always the best in regard of society."  [1913 Webster]
•  In different circumstances; under other conditions; as, I am engaged, otherwise I would accept.  [1913 Webster]

  " Otherwise, like so and thus, may be used as a substitute for the opposite of a previous adjective, noun, etc."  [1913 Webster]

  "Let no man think me a fool; if otherwise, yet as a fool receive me."  [1913 Webster]

  "Her eyebrows . . . rather full than otherwise."  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

Otherwise, adv. & adj.
--adv.
1 else; or else; in the circumstances other than those considered etc. (bring your umbrella, otherwise you will get wet).
2 in other respects (he is untidy, but otherwise very suitable).
3 (often foll. by than) in a different way (could not have acted otherwise; cannot react otherwise than angrily).
4 as an alternative (otherwise known as Jack).
--adj.
1 (predic.) in a different state (the matter is quite otherwise).
2 archaic that would otherwise exist (their otherwise dullness).

Idiom

and (or or) otherwise the negation or opposite (of a specified thing) (the merits or otherwise of the Bill; experiences pleasant and otherwise).

Etymology

OE on othre wisan (as OTHER, WISE(2))

DEVIL DICTIONARY

Otherwise

adv. No better.

THESAURUS

Otherwise

a rebours, against the grain, alias, another, arsy-varsy, by contraries, contra, contrarily, contrariously, contrariwise, conversely, differently, disparate, dissimilar, distant, divergent, diverse, diversely, else, elsewise, if not, in another way, in flat opposition, in other respects, in other ways, inversely, just the opposite, nay rather, not that sort, not the same, not the type, of a sort, of another sort, of sorts, on the contrary, oppositely, or else, other, other than, peculiar, per contra, quite the contrary, rare, rather, special, sui generis, than, to the contrary, topsy-turvy, tout au contraire, unalike, unequal, unique, unlike, upside down, variously, vice versa

ROGET THESAURUS

Otherwise

Dissimilarity

N dissimilarity, dissimilaritude, unlikeness, diversity, disparity, dissemblance, divergence, variation, difference, novelty, originality, creativeness, oogamy, dissimilar, unlike, disparate, divergent, of a different kind, unmatched, unique, new, novel, unprecedented, original, nothing of the kind, no such thing, quite another thing, far from it, cast in a different mold, tertium quid, as like a dock as a daisy, very like a whale, as different as chalk from cheese, as different as Macedon and Monmouth, lucus a non lucendo, diversified, otherwise, diis aliter visum, no more like my father than I to Hercules.