What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

While vs Whereas - What's the difference?

while | whereas |

As nouns the difference between while and whereas

is that while is an uncertain duration of time, a period of time while whereas is a clause, as in legal documents, stating whereas.

As conjunctions the difference between while and whereas

is that while is during the same time that while whereas is in contrast; whilst on the contrary.

As a verb while

is to pass (time) idly.

As an adverb whereas is

where (that).

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

    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...