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among vs amongst

KS (Montreal)

September 3

Is there a difference between among and amongst?

View our courses: English

Answers (10)

Kamyar Khazei
English teacher

September 7

“Among” and “amongst” mean the same thing—they both indicate being in the middle of, surrounded by, or part of a group. The difference is mostly about style, formality, and regional usage.

Among = More common in modern English, both American and British.

Example: She felt comfortable among friends.

Amongst = Slightly older, more formal or literary, mostly used in British English. Rare in American English.

Example: He walked amongst the crowd with ease.

Martin Dansky
English teacher

September 18

They both mean the same thing. While "among" is more commonly used especially in the US, amongst is more formal and considered an older form there. Amongst is more accepted in the UK than in the US, but it also considered to be a more formal than among.

RB

September 21

Among’ is commonly used in modern English, while ‘amongst’ is a more old-fashioned form of the same word. You’ll often come across ‘amongst’ in older books, films, or more formal styles of writing."

Nour Oukoho
English teacher

November 24

“Among” and “amongst” mean exactly the same thing: in the middle of, or surrounded by, more than two people or things. The difference is mainly style and usage.

Among : more common in modern English (both American and British).

Example: She was sitting among her friends.

Amongst : more old-fashioned or formal; mostly used in British English.

Example: He felt lost amongst the crowd.

Quoc Duyen Anh Nguyen
English teacher

December 1

Both are the same definition but among is more commonly used in modern setting. Source: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/among-and-amongst#google_vignette

Emre Can Celik
English teacher

December 14

There are no differences as per definitions of each word. Amongst is used commonly in British English and can be accepted as a bit formal or traditional English. But in modern British English, "among" is common and safer to use.

Larisa Ab
Singing teacher

March 25

In modern English, there is not a significant difference. "Among" is more common in American English, and "Amongst" is more common in British English.

You might find "amongst" more commonly used in literature, particularly older writing, but "among" is more common when speaking.

Marcio Silva
English teacher

June 2

They both mean the same; however, amongst is more formal, literary or old-fashioned.

Reference Nwitte-Eze
English teacher

June 9

“Among” and “amongst” mean the same thing, both referring to being in or surrounded by a group. The only difference is style: “among” is more common in modern everyday English, while “amongst” is slightly more formal or old-fashioned and is used more in British English. For example, you can say “She is popular among students” or “She is popular amongst students,” and both are correct. However, “among” is usually the safer and more natural choice in most situations.

James Filerman
English teacher

July 1

Yes....an ocean

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