

Typically, acronyms and initialisms are written in all capital letters to distinguish them from ordinary words. Both acronyms and initialisms are abbreviations that are formed by combining the initial letter or letters of each word into a longer name or phrase. Acronyms and initialismsĪbbreviations come in a few different varieties. If the abbreviation is obscure or unfamiliar, make sure to explain what it means the first time you use it. The other thing to remember is that some readers may not know what an abbreviation means. If you are writing something very formal, it’s better to err on the side of spelling things out. One thing to remember about abbreviations is that certain ones are considered informal. If you’re referring to a player in the NFL, you would write, "an NFL player" because the beginning sound of the initialism is a vowel.Grammarly helps you communicate confidently Write with Grammarly Understanding the difference between these two abbreviations will help you decide what indefinite article to use. For example, the NFL (National Football League) is pronounced en-eff-ell. Initialisms are also a series of initial letters, but the letters are pronounced individually instead of as a single word.

Acronyms are pronounced as a single word, like NASA, IKEA, or radar (Radio Detection and Ranging). Difference between acronyms and initialismsĪn acronym is a series of initial letters for a word or phrase. Note: You will sometimes see abbreviations without the full stops. Mon., Tues., Wed., Thurs., Fri., Sat., Sun. ("May" is only three letters long, so is not abbreviated.) Days Here are some other common abbreviations: Months stands for post meridian and means "after noon" stands for ante meridian and means "before noon" stands for et cetera and means "and so forth" stands for exempli gratia and means "for example" There are a number of Latin abbreviations that are common in English writing. For instance, MBA is an abbreviation for Master of Business Administration. Here are some other common title abbreviations:Ĭollege degrees are also often abbreviated. Words like doctor, mister, and missus are often abbreviated to Dr., Mr., and Mrs., respectively. Some of the most common ways abbreviations occur in the English language are in titles.
