There’s a word haunting documents, cluttering up chat messages, and lurking in email threads like an uninvited character from Downton Abbey. That word is whilst.
Let’s be clear: no one in the United States says this unironically. Not in conversation. Not in writing. Not in corporate life. Not unless they’re also saying “fortnight,” “bespoke,” or “I daresay.”
It’s Not Just Archaic—It’s Distracting
In American English, whilst is the verbal equivalent of someone casually pulling out a monocle in a team meeting. It grabs attention—but not the kind you want. It doesn’t make you sound smart, elegant, or refined. It makes your writing sound like it’s cosplaying as a 19th-century butler.
It’s the verbal “smell of mahogany and pipe tobacco”—which is great for a Sherlock Holmes novel. Less so for a Q3 strategy deck.
“But It’s Just a Synonym for While…”
Not really. In British English, whilst has some niche usage as a slightly more formal or literary variant of while. But in American English, it feels affected. Obsolete. Weird. According to Bryan Garner, the go-to authority on usage, it’s “virtually obsolete” in American English.
Even The Guardian—a proudly British publication—says:
“while, not whilst.”
If they don’t want it, why should we?
The Data Doesn’t Lie
A quick glance at any American English corpus tells the story:
while appears hundreds of times more often than whilst.
You are more likely to encounter the word defenestrate in a U.S. context than whilst. (And that’s saying something.)
When You Use “Whilst” in American Writing, Here’s What Happens:
- Your reader pauses, just long enough to think, “Wait, what?”
- The tone of your writing shifts from clear and modern to weirdly antique.
- Your credibility takes a micro-dip, especially if you’re talking about anything tech, product, UX, or business-related.
If your aim is clarity, fluency, and modern tone, whilst is working against you. Every. Single. Time.
So Why Are People Still Using It?
Sometimes it’s unintentional—picked up from reading British content or working with UK colleagues. Fair. But often it’s performative. A subtle “look how elevated my writing is.” Spoiler: it’s not.
Here’s a Radical Idea: Use “While”
- It’s simple.
- It’s modern.
- It’s not pretending it’s writing for The Times in 1852.
Final Verdict
Unless you are:
- A Dickensian character,
- Writing fanfiction set in Edwardian England,
- Or legally required by the BBC,
please—for the love of plain language—stop using whilst.
Say while. Your readers will thank you. Your teammates will stop rolling their eyes. And your copy will immediately gain 200% more credibility in the modern world.
This blog post was created with help from ChatGPT to combat the “whilst” crowd at my office
Christopher Finlan 