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Upon vs Within - What's the difference?

upon | within |

As prepositions the difference between upon and within

is that upon is being above and in contact with another while within is Indicates spatial enclosure or containment.

As adverbs the difference between upon and within

is that upon is being the target of an action while within is in or into the interior; inside.

upon

English

Alternative forms

* vpon (obsolete)

Preposition

(English prepositions)
  • Being above and in contact with another.
  • :
  • *{{quote-book, year=1899, author=(Hughes Mearns)
    • , title= , passage=Yesterday, upon the stair / I met a man who wasn’t there / He wasn’t there again today / I wish, I wish he’d go away …}}
  • Being directly supported by another.
  • :
  • :
  • Being followed by another so as to form a series.
  • :
  • At a prescribed point in time.
  • :
  • .
  • *
    • , title=(The Celebrity), chapter=5 , passage=Although the Celebrity was almost impervious to sarcasm, he was now beginning to exhibit visible signs of uneasiness, the consciousness dawning upon him that his eccentricity was not receiving the ovation it merited.}}
  • *
  • *:Little disappointed, then, she turned attention to "Chat of the Social World," gossip which exercised potent fascination upon the girl's intelligence.

    • Usage notes

    A somewhat elevated word; the simpler, more general term on is generally interchangeable, and more common in casual American speech. In poetic or legal contexts, upon is common.

    Synonyms

    * (all senses) on * (time) at

    Adverb

    (-)
  • Being the target of an action.
    • He was set upon by the agitated dogs
  • Incidental to a specified point in time or order of action; usually combined with here-, there- or where-.
    • The clock struck noon, whereupon the students proceeded to lunch.

    Derived terms

    * hereupon * thereupon * whereupon

    Statistics

    *

    within

    English

    Preposition

    (English prepositions)
  • * 1908 , (Kenneth Grahame), (The Wind in the Willows) ,
    • The Rat.
  • * 2011 , Tom Fordyce, Rugby World Cup 2011: England 12-19 France [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/15210221.stm]
    • England struck back with a fine try from Ben Foden and closed to within seven points with three minutes left when Mark Cueto capitalised on a break from replacement Matt Banahan.
  • Before the specified duration ends.
  • * {{quote-news, year=2012, date=June 9, author=Owen Phillips, work=BBC Sport
    • , tyitle= Euro 2012: Netherlands 0-1 Denmark , passage=And Netherlands, backed by a typically noisy and colourful travelling support, started the second period in blistering fashion and could have had four goals within 10 minutes}}

    Antonyms

    * without * outside * outwith

    Statistics

    *

    Adverb

    (en adverb)
  • in or into the interior; inside