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Albeit vs While - What's the difference?

albeit | while |

As conjunctions the difference between albeit and while

is that albeit is although, despite being while while is during the same time that.

As a noun while is

an uncertain duration of time, a period of time.

As a verb while is

to pass (time) idly.

albeit

English

Conjunction

  • although, despite being
  • He has a very good idea, albeit a strange one.

    Usage notes

    Unlike although'', ''albeit cannot also introduce an independent clause. Either can introduce a noun phrase, adjectival phrase, or adverbial phrase.

    Quotations

    * 2001 , (Eoin Colfer), , page 92: *: The stranger had crossed a sacred line. He had mentioned the men’s mothers. Nothing could get him out of a beating now, even the fact that he was obviously a simpleton. Albeit a simpleton with a good vocabulary. * 2007 June 17, Ellen Marrus, in the Houston Chronicle : *: There’s an easy, albeit expensive, way to fix the national crisis in forensic crime labs. * {{quote-news, year=2011 , date=September 24 , author=Ben Dirs , title=Rugby World Cup 2011: England 67-3 Romania , work=BBC Sport citation , page= , passage=Up front, skipper and open-side Lewis Moody looked almost back to full fitness, while England's set-piece was barely troubled, albeit against a Romania side showing 11 changes from that beaten by Argentina earlier in the week.}}

    while

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • An uncertain duration of time, a period of time.
  • He lectured for quite a long while .

    Conjunction

    (wikipedia while) (English Conjunctions)
  • During the same time that.
  • * , chapter=12
  • , title= Mr. Pratt's Patients , passage=While the powwow was going on the big woman came back again. She was consider'ble rumpled and scratched up, but there was fire in her eye.}}
  • * 1948 , , North from Mexico / The Spanish-Speaking People of The United States , J. B. Lippincott Company, page 25,
  • While De Anza was exploring the Bay of San Francisco, seeking a site for the presidio, the American colonists on the eastern seaboard, three thousand miles away, were celebrating the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-07, author=David Simpson
  • , volume=188, issue=26, page=36, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= Fantasy of navigation , passage=Like most human activities, ballooning has sponsored heroes and hucksters and a good deal in between. For every dedicated scientist patiently recording atmospheric pressure and wind speed while shivering at high altitudes, there is a carnival barker with a bevy of pretty girls willing to dangle from a basket or parachute down to earth.}}
  • Although.
  • * 2013 September 28, (Kenan Malik), " London Is Special, but Not That Special," New York Times (retrieved 28 September 2013):
  • While Britain’s recession has been deep and unforgiving, in London it has been relatively shallow.
  • (Northern England, Scotland) Until.
  • * Beaumont and Fletcher
  • I may be conveyed into your chamber; I'll lie under your bed while midnight.
  • As long as.
  • * I. Watts
  • Use your memory; you will sensibly experience a gradual improvement, while you take care not to overload it.

    Verb

    (whil)
  • To pass (time) idly.
  • * Longfellow
  • The lovely lady whiled the hours away.
  • To loiter.
  • (Spectator)

    Derived terms

    * while away * meanwhile * the while