It is a formal and appropriate way of greeting someone when approached, making a request, asking for a favor, and many others.
Key Takeaways
- โMrs.โ is a title used to address a married woman, while โMs.โ addresses a woman regardless of her marital status.
- โMrs.โ is used in formal and traditional settings, while โMs.โ is used in more modern and informal settings.
- โMs.โ is often used to avoid revealing a womanโs marital status or to avoid assumptions about her marital status.
Mrs vs Ms
Mrs. is a title used as a form of address for a married woman, preceding her surname or first name. The term originated as an abbreviation for the word โmistress.โ Ms. is a neutral title used to address a woman whose marital status is unknown or who prefers not to reveal it.

It is a word that originated from British English, but along the other side, Mrs. is also used for the same purpose, but the difference between the two is that it is originally from American English.
The significance of the salutation is that it has been used for women under 25 years of age or women who are single or unmarried or can be used for married women.
Comparison Table
Parameters of Comparison | Mrs | Ms |
---|---|---|
Plural Form | Plural form of Mrs is โMesdamesโ | Plural form of Ms is โMss.โ or โMsesโ |
Definition | Salutation for women generally married | Salutation for women under 25 years of age, single, unmarried, or married |
Usage | When the marital status of the woman is known or is at the higher post and is married. | When the marital status of the women is unknown or nevertheless is irrelevant. |
Pronunciation | Misses | Mizzes |
Equivalence | Mr. | Master |
What is Mrs?ย
It is a word that has been used forever since the existence of the language.
The definition of the word, according to the dictionary, is that it is the term used for women that are married. For using the word โMrs,โ the status of the marriage must be known to the second or the third person.
Also, it is not a compulsion to always use the salutation of the word โMrsโ with the first name or surname because if someone has another salutation like โ Dr, Professor, Lady, Dame, etc., they must be used to neglect the โMrsโ salutation with the name.

What is Ms?ย
It is a word that has been used verbally and in written and is a very common practice.
The complete and proper definition of the word โMsโ is that the term is used for women irrespective of their marital status in society.
Also, the same is with the โMsโ salutation that if someone carries an additional salutation like โ Dr, Professor, Lady, Dame, etc., they must be used instead of using the word โMsโ with the name.

Main Differences Between Mrs and Ms
- The pronunciation of the word โMrsโ is โmissesโ whereas comparatively, on the other hand, the pronunciation of the word โMsโ is โmizzesโ.ย
- The salutation โMrsโ is equivalent to the other word โMrโ whereas comparatively, on the other hand, the salutation โMsโ is equivalent to the other word โMaster.โ

- https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/mrm.25352
- https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00287454

Emma Smith holds an MA degree in English from Irvine Valley College. She has been a Journalist since 2002, writing articles on the English language, Sports, and Law. Read more about me on her bio page.