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Whereas vs Otherwise - What's the difference?

whereas | otherwise |

As adverbs the difference between whereas and otherwise

is that whereas is where (that) while otherwise is differently, in another way.

As a conjunction whereas

is in contrast; whilst on the contrary.

As a noun whereas

is a clause, as in legal documents, stating whereas.

As an adjective otherwise is

other than supposed; different.

whereas

English

Alternative forms

* (rare)

Adverb

(-)
  • (obsolete) Where (that).
  • * 1590 , Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene , I.iii:
    • And home she came, whereas her mother blynd / Sate in eternall night [...].

    Conjunction

    (English Conjunctions)
  • In contrast; whilst on the contrary.
    • He came first in the race whereas his brother came last.
  • It being the fact that; inasmuch as
  • * United States Articles of Confederation
    • And Whereas it hath pleased the Great Governor of the World to incline the hearts of the legislatures we respectively represent in Congress, to approve of, and to authorize us to ratify the said Articles of Confederation and perpetual Union.

    Usage notes

    * Whereas is used in the second sense principally in legal documents, formal resolutions of corporate bodies, and the like.

    See also

    * thereabout, thereafter, thereagainst, thereat, thereby, therefor, therefore, therefrom, therein, thereinafter, thereof, thereon, thereto, theretofore, thereunder, thereunto, thereupon, therewith, therewithal * hereabout, hereafter, hereat, hereby, herein, hereinafter, hereinbefore, hereinto, hereof, hereon, hereto, heretofore, hereunto, hereunder, hereupon, herewith * whereabouts, whereas, whereafter, whereat, whereby, wherefore, wherefrom, wherein, whereinto, whereof, whereon, whereto, whereunder, whereupon, wherever, wherewith, wherewithal

    Noun

    (es)
  • A clause, as in legal documents, stating whereas.
  • * 1883 , The Insurance Law Journal
    • ...the promise is stated after a whereas , though the promise is the very gist of the action, yet, such a count so framed, will be held good on demurrer.
  • * 1908 , United States Congress, Hearings beginning March 9, 1908-April 30, 1908
    • It had a page or so of whereases .
  • * 1961 , Aluminum Workers' International Union, Biennial Convention
    • I feel it is most unfortunate that some of the preambles, prefaces, whereases or whatever you want to call it, are put before motions or before resolutions...
  • * 1973 , Canadian Fellowship of Catholic Scholars, Proceedings
    • If it is the desire of any Lodge on the floor that the whereases that were listed in their original Resolution be quoted by the Chairman or by the Secretary...

    otherwise

    English

    Alternative forms

    * otherwize

    Adverb

    (-)
  • (lb) Differently, in another way.
  • :
  • *2011 , Phil McNulty, Euro 2012: Montenegro 2-2 England
  • *:Fabio Capello insisted Rooney was in the right frame of mind to play in stormy Podgorica despite his father's arrest on Thursday in a probe into alleged betting irregularities, but his flash of temper - when he kicked out at Miodrag Dzudovic - suggested otherwise .
  • (lb)  In different circumstances; or else.
  • :
  • *
  • *:They burned the old gun that used to stand in the dark corner up in the garret, close to the stuffed fox that always grinned so fiercely. Perhaps the reason why he seemed in such a ghastly rage was that he did not come by his death fairly. Otherwise his pelt would not have been so perfect. And why else was he put away up there out of sight?—and so magnificent a brush as he had too.
  • *
    • , title=(The Celebrity), chapter=4 , passage=No matter how early I came down, I would find him on the veranda, smoking cigarettes, or otherwise his man would be there with a message to say that his master would shortly join me if I would kindly wait.}}
  • *{{quote-magazine, year=2012, month=March-April, author=
    • , volume=100, issue=2, page=171, magazine=(American Scientist) , title= Well-connected Brains , passage=Creating a complete map of the human connectome would therefore be a monumental milestone but not the end of the journey to understanding how our brains work. The achievement will transform neuroscience and serve as the starting point for asking questions we could not otherwise have answered,
  • (lb) In all other respects.
  • :
  • *2013 , Phil McNulty, ''BBC Sport , 1 September:
  • *:Robin van Persie squandered United's best chance late on but otherwise it was a relatively comfortable afternoon for Liverpool's new goalkeeper Simon Mignolet, who has yet to concede a Premier League goal since his £9m summer move from Sunderland.

    • Usage notes

    * "Otherwise" is often used to refer to the negative of something. The something may be a noun phrase, a verb phrase, an adjective phrase, or an adverb phrase, or a clause, or even something larger.

    Synonyms

    * (differently) contrarily, contrastingly * (in different circumstances) if not, else (See or else) * (in all other respects) apart from that

    Antonyms

    * likewise

    Adjective

    (-)
  • Other than supposed; different.
    • He said he didn’t do it, but the evidence was otherwise .