An edit’s rewritten as an alternative (7)
I believe the answer is:
instead
'as an alternative' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'an edit's rewritten' is the wordplay.
'rewritten' indicates an anagram.
'an'+'edits'='anedits'
'anedits' anagrammed gives 'INSTEAD'.
(Other definitions for instead that I've seen before include "for a change" , "as an alternative option" , "Stained (anag)" , "In place (of)" , "Alternatively" .)