whereas
Americanconjunction
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while on the contrary.
One arrived promptly, whereas the others hung back.
-
it being the case that, or considering that (used especially in formal preambles).
noun
-
whereases
plural
conjunction
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of whereas
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English wheras; equivalent to where + as 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The company had previously proposed using 27m tall steel pylons, whereas this new design would be nearer 22m.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
The ACS has an annual sample size of only 3.5 million, whereas the decennial census has universal reach.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
"The only difference is that the US used to keep it ambiguous, whereas now it has gone public, which shows that Washington is no longer trying to hide it," he added.
From Barron's ● Sep. 15, 2026
Finally, whereas the column focuses on threats to democracy and turnout as the decisive test for Newsom, several reports highlight more personal and practical hurdles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026
The females are reared to become the next generation of dairy cows, whereas the males are handed over to the care of the meat industry.
From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari
A frivolous, meaningless declaration filled with whereases and therefores to pretend our boys in blue were winners?
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 22, 2020
Chairman Pittman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee drafted an eloquent joint resolution with many whereases describing the brutality of the Spanish conflict, the danger of its dragging the U. S. into war. etc., etc.
From Time Magazine Archive
After four resonant whereases, the resolution reached the two sore spots.
From Time Magazine Archive
I mean to say, I bet you got your lawyer to write him a letter full of whereases, peradventures, and parties of the first part, and so forth.
From Indiscretions of Archie by P. G. (Pelham Grenville) Wodehouse
There ain't but three whereases, because Sallie Green copied them out of a paper when Mr. Joynes died, just changing to suit a live person, and the last one comes way down.
From Miss Gibbie Gault by Kate Langley Bosher
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
