Difference between Miss and Ms.

Miss and Ms. are ways to address a woman

It may seem like “miss” and “ms” mean the same. After all, they both mean miss, right? In actuality, it is important to know the difference in usage as it can create offense or misunderstanding. Here are the differences between miss and ms.

Miss is used as a title of respect for an unmarried woman.It is derived from the title “mistress”. When used, it precedes the individual’s name. It can also be used for a title, a characteristic, or something the individual represents, like “Miss Universe” or “Miss America”.

On the other hand, Ms is a title of respect affixed before a woman’s name. It is applicable to females regardless of their marital status. The title began in the 1950s as a means to demonstrate respect. The title was popularized during the women’s movement in the 70s period, where it was recognized as an equivalent for “mister”, which is used for men.

	Miss	Ms.
Definition	A title of respect for an unmarried woman	A title of respect for a woman, regardless of marital status
Classification/Usage	Precedes a name or title; can also be used to refer to female teachers in some countries	Can precede a name or be used to refer to a female whose name is yet unknown
Example	The word “mistress”	An alternative for the male title “Mr”
Plural Form	Misses	Mss./Mses.

Venn Diagram