What are the differences between 'albeit' and 'although'? [duplicate]
The lexical and direct meaning of albeit seems approximately equal to the meaning of although. I would like to know what the practical differences in usage of the two aforesaid words are in sentence making.
Albeit is a conjunction whose usage has become more common in recent decades (see Ngram). There are difference in usage with the conjunctions although/though, see the extract below:
- The conjunction albeit has been labeled archaic, but it appears to be making a comeback. It means though or although, but it is not interchangeable with these words in all circumstances. Think of it as a shorter way of saying although it is or although it be.
From: (grammarist.com)
Albeit and Although:
- are two words in the English language that are almost similar in their sense but with some sort of difference though. Albeit is more often used in informal speech or writing whereas although can be used in all cases of writing. This is one of the main differences between the two words ‘albeit’ and ‘although’
Look at the two sentences given below:
Although he worked hard he could not pass the examination.
He worked hard albeit without success.
In the first sentence the word ‘although’ is used in the beginning of the sentence itself. In the second sentence it is used in the middle of the sentence and in an informal way too. It is also important to know that the word ‘albeit’ is used more as a conjunction and hence very often it is used in the middle of a sentence than at the very beginning of a sentence . In other words it can be said that the word ‘albeit’ is very rarely used in the beginning of a sentence. This is also a very important difference between the words ‘albeit’ and ‘although’.
There is an interesting rule in the case of the usage of the word ‘although’. As you can see from the example given above, ‘although’ can be used in the beginning of a sentence but it cannot be used at the end of a sentence. It is grammatically incorrect to say ‘I had a good time in the party although.’ In such cases the word ‘although’ can be replaced by the word ‘though’ and hence the sentence becomes correct as ‘I had a good time in the party though’.
The example given above also shows that the word ‘although’ too can be used as a conjunction to connect two ideas in a sentence.
From: www.differencebetween.com)
Other usage examples:
This morning we gratefully received a long overdue pardon, albeit temporary, from the gray drearies which have toyed with our sanity all winter. [Cape Cod Chronicle]
The right-hander’s ability to dominate hitters returned, albeit sporadically, as he provided glimpses of the skill that won him the last two National League Cy Young Awards. [MLB.com]
The sponge was very absorbent, soaking up all the soda, albeit with some effort. [New York Times]