Don’t Use “While” to Mean “Although”

Dear Legal Writer, Don’t use “while” to mean “although.”

Here’s two examples showing why:

 ❌ “While the stove is off, the toaster works.”

What does the writer mean, A or B?

A: “Although (=whereas) the stove is off, the toaster works.”
 
B: “When (=only when) the stove is off, the toaster works.”

Here’s another example:

❌ “While she’s running for VP, her work mounts.”

Which is it, A or B?

A: “Although she’s running for VP (not President), her work mounts.”

B: “At the same time she’s running for VP, her work mounts.”

As readers, unless we have more context, we simply cannot know whether the writer means A or B in the above examples.

(We may be unsure even WITH more context!)

⬇️

The uncertainty arises because “while” has so many potential meanings, even when used as a conjunction (as in the above examples).

***

“While” can mean:

1/ during the time that; at the same time as.
 Ex.: “Nothing much changed while he was away.”

2/ as long as
 Ex.: “While there’s life, there’s hope.”
 
3/ whereas (indicating a contrast); when on the other hand
 Ex.: “One person wants out, while the other wants to fight on.”

4/ in spite of the fact that; although
 Ex.: “While he’s respected, he’s not well liked.”

5/ similarly and the same time
 Ex. “While John liked the film, Jim loved it.”

But out of these 5 potential meanings, only 3 + 4 are synonyms for “although.”

By contrast, the meaning of “although” is straightforward:

 “Although” = “whereas” or “in spite of the fact that.”

***

MY TAKE:

Although legal scholars and usage experts disagree on the extent of the problem stemming from use of “while” for “although,” the best rule is this:

✅ Never use “while” to mean “although.”

✅ Limit “while” to its temporal meanings.

Do you think those rules are too draconian? You really want to use “while” to mean “although”?

OK.

But make sure you’re not creating a stove-off-toaster-on problem!

💌 Amanda

#DearLegalWriter

P.S. Do you use “while” to mean “although” in legal writing?