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New2grammar Posted 19 years ago
Grammar

abbreviation, contraction and acronym

0What are the differences between abbreviation, contraction and acronym? 02br
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00I have looked up in a dictionary and here is what it says:02br
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00Contraction: A word, as 01i00won't02i00 from 01i00will not,02i00 or phrase, as 01i00o'clock02i00 from 01i00of the clock,02i00 formed by omitting or combining some of the sounds of a longer phrase.02br
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00Abbreviation: A shortened form of a word or phrase used chiefly in writing to represent the complete form, such as 01i00Mass.02i00 for 01i00Massachusetts02i00 or 01i00USMC02i00 for 01i00United States Marine Corps.02i02br
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00Acronym: A word formed from the initial letters of a name, such as 01i00WAC02i00 for 01i00W02i00omen's 01i00A02i00rmy 01i00C02i00orps, or by combining initial letters or parts of a series of words, such as 01i00radar02i00 for 01i00ra02i00dio 01i00d02i00etecting 01i00a02i00nd 01i00r02i00anging.02br
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00Isn't abbreviation a subset of contraction based on the definitions provided? Also, acronym is quite similar to abbreviation, for example, USMC and WAC? Could someone please clarify the differences? Thanks0-
  

Top answer

0 acronym: just01b 00 initials02b 02br 00 abbreviation: shortening (cut some of the 01b 00final02b 00 letters, etc)02br 00 contraction: some of the01b 00 middle02b 00 letters can be removed too0-

— Marius Hancu

  • 0 acronym: just01b 00 initials02b 02br 00 abbreviation: shortening (cut some of the 01b 00final02b 00 letters, etc)02br 00 contraction: some of the01b 00 middle02b 00 letters can be removed too0-
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6 Answers
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0 acronym: just01b00 initials02b02br
00 abbreviation: shortening (cut some of the 01b00final02b00 letters, etc)02br
00 contraction: some of the01b00 middle02b00 letters can be removed too0-
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0So, 01i00USMC02i00 for 01i00United States Marine Corps 02i00is both a abbreviation and also acronym? Can I say acronym is a special case of abbreviation since acronym is abbreviated and left with only initials?0-
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0Hi,02br
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00Simply put, an acronym is an abbreviation that is pronounced as a word.02br
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00eg FBI is an abbreviation. We pronounce each letter separately, thus 01i00eff bee eye02i02br
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00eg NATO is an acronym. We pronounce it as a word 01i00naytoe02i00, not as 01i00enn eh
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New2grammarWhat are the differences between abbreviation, contraction and acronym?
An acronym is a set of letters that can be pronounced as a single word (e.g., NATO pronounced "NAY-TOE") whereas an abbreviation is pronounced one letter at a time (e.g., CSS pronounced "SEE ESS ESS").

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This is how I see the three words - Acronyms are necessarily abbreviations but many abbreviations are not acronyms. Thus, the common practice of saying "Abbreviations and acronyms" amounts to unnecessary repetition and should be avoided. It is enough to say abbreviations. According to the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, to abbreviate is to "make a word, phrase or name shorter by leaving

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An abbreviation is a shortened form of a written word or phrase. There are many different kinds of abbreviations: acronyms, initialisms, portmanteau, truncations and clipped words.

Acronyms are words formed from letters in a series of related words. If initials of a group of words are used to form a new word it is called an acronym.e.g. NATO.

Initial

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