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

plural

whereases

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

Etymology

Origin of whereas

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

Example Sentences

Ross McCrorie did nothing wrong at right wing-back against Ivory Coast, whereas Nathan Patterson looked rusty at right-back in his start against Japan.

From BBC • Apr. 1, 2026

"Normally, it's kind of a handful of countries, whereas it's only been one so far this time."

From Barron's • Mar. 27, 2026

For example, in cycle 1, real economic growth was between 3% to 6%, whereas during the last four quarters, real U.S. final sales growth was 2.4%, and U.S. job creation was zero.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 27, 2026

The Pfizer-Valneva vaccine is different from Lymerix in that it protects against six strains of the disease, whereas Lymerix protected against only one.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 23, 2026

Dylan Thomas, with his high, ethereal voice and poetry that was, at times, incomprehensible, fulfilled that idea, whereas Hughes, writing about ordinary people and about a very mundane Harlem, did not fulfill that idea.

From "Bad Boy" by Walter Dean Myers