whereas

American  

[hwair-, wair-az] / ʰwɛər-, wɛərˈæz /

conjunction

1. while on the contrary.

   One arrived promptly, whereas the others hung back.

2. it being the case that, or considering that (used especially in formal preambles).

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noun

whereases plural

1. a qualifying or introductory statement, especially one having “whereas” as the first word.

   to read the whereases in the will.

whereas British  

/ wɛərˈæz /

conjunction

1. (coordinating) but on the other hand

   I like to go swimming whereas Sheila likes to sail

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1. (in formal documents to begin sentences) it being the case that; since

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• whereases
  plural

Etymology

Origin of whereas

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English wheras; equivalent to where + as ¹

Example Sentences

Those discussions gave Micron enough visibility to project the shortage running beyond 2027, whereas the company had previously been keeping its comments about industry conditions limited to the current calendar year.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 26, 2026

"I think England plays more of a favourite's role, whereas Scotland is more of an underdog, so I think it'll be a little bit different," added Brandon, who has now replenished his stocks of beer.

From BBC • Jun. 23, 2026

Hosseini sees Micron’s annualized earnings per share reaching $160 in fiscal 2027, whereas it was $8.29 at the end of fiscal 2025.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 22, 2026

If you’re not, you’ve got to use money, which is hard to get, whereas you get shares by typing zeros into a spreadsheet.

From Salon • Jun. 22, 2026

The cover color was almost an exact match, but hers had the sparkly gold-bug, whereas the one Hollister was selling had an oval portrait of Poe himself.

From "Book Scavenger" by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman