escolha

Escolha is a noun in Portuguese that denotes the act of selecting or the option resulting from selecting among alternatives. It can refer to a decision, a preference, or the outcome of a choice, and is used in personal, professional, and cultural contexts.

The noun is derived from the verb escolher, to choose. The term is used across the Portuguese-speaking world and appears in everyday speech as well as in formal writing.

Usage occurs in a variety of expressions, such as fazer uma escolha (make a choice), escolher entre várias opções (choose among several options), and uma escolha de vida (a life choice). In political contexts, the term eleição is typically used instead of escolha, since escolha emphasizes selection rather than a formal electoral process.

In academic and philosophical contexts, escolha is often used to discuss agency, decision-making, and free will, with distinctions between escolhas livres (free choices) and external pressures that constrain selection.

Related terms include opção (option), alternativa (alternative), and decisão (decision). Antonyms depend on context but can include obrigação (obligation) or impossibilidade (impossibility). For political processes, the related term eleição is more common.