Unorthodox change by resident (11)
I believe the answer is:
alternative
'unorthodox' is the definition.
Both the definition and answer are adjectives. Maybe they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'change by resident' is the wordplay.
'change' becomes 'alter' (synonyms).
'by' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'resident' becomes 'native' (I've seen this in other clues).
'alter'+'native'='ALTERNATIVE'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for alternative that I've seen before include "Available as another possibility" , "One of two or more available possibilities" , "unavailable in Hobson's stable" , "One possible option" , "(Of two things) mutually exclusive" .)