Whats the difference between Ms. and Miss?

Question

cuz i was fillin this thing out and it asked if I was a Ms. or a Miss...whats the difference?

Answer 1

Miss refers to a single woman, while Mrs. refers to a married woman. For men, Mr. is used regardless of marital status.

When the women's right movement was at its peak in the 1960's and 70's, Ms. was invented as a title for a woman regardless of marital status. Was intended to replace both Miss and Mrs.

Today it is acceptable to use either Miss/Mrs or Ms. Ms. if most often used in formal and employment situation. Ms. is also often used when the woman's marital status is not known.

Answer 2

Ms., as an abbreviation, came into vogue in the 70's when more women were entering the workplace. It became important to address a business letter to a woman correctly but a writer never knew whether the woman was married (thus "Mrs. Jones") or not married (thus "Miss Jones"). So Ms. became the standard to avoid addressing a woman incorrectly in a letter and has caught on.

As to asking if you are a Ms. or a Miss, most such forms also include Mrs. so it was clear what you wished to be called. Lately I've noticed that some forms are dropping the Mrs. altogether.

Really it is usually a way to determine how you wish to be addressed in formal situations.

Answer 3

Ms became popular during the women's lib movement, late 70's early 80's. Liberated women didn't like the choices of Miss, unmarried woman, or Mrs, married woman. So they came up with Ms, which just means, woman. If you're divorced, do what I did, go back to Miss.

Answer 4

Miss is an unmarried young woman, and Ms. can be someone divorced, single but older, or anyone no matter what marital status. Ms. was created in to be an alternative when a woman doesn't want her marriage status in her name, like how males are Mr. if they are married or not.

Answer 5

Miss indicated an unmarried woman. The term Ms. was coined to provide an alternative title for women who did not want to imply marital status in their name, for either personal, professional, or political reasons. Ms can be used by either a married or an unmarried woman and does not imply anything about their age or whether or not they are married.

Answer 6

Ms (note there is no period--it is NOT an abbreviation) is a form of address for women developed in the sexual revolution that provides an alternative for Miss (unmarried) or Mrs. (which suggests being the "property" of a husband).

Now it is used more widely as a way to address a women in a way that does not make assumptions about her marital status--particularly in business situations where such personal information is irrelevant.

Answer 7

Miss is the english term for an unmarried female, as opposed to Mrs. which is the english term for a married female. Note that Miss does not take a period as it is not an abbreviation, Mrs. does take a period because it is short for Mistress (a word which no longer means what it once did, boy, how times change). Ms, which does not take a period because it isn't an abbreviation, is a contrived term coming out of the women's lib movement, used to denote the person was (is) female without specifying her marital status, which women libbers thought was demeaning since Mr. denoted male gender without specifying marital status.

Answer 8

Miss = Not married
Ms. = Marital status undisclosed

Answer 9

Miss is an abbreviation for Mistress, identifying a single woman. Ms (no period, as it isn't an abbreviation for anything) was "invented" during the modern era to identify any woman: married, unmarried, divorced, etc. Liberated women didn't think they should be identified by their marital status.

Answer 10

Some women who are married, wish to keep their Maiden name for business purposes. This woman would be addressed as Ms. (pronounced Mizz). A single female is known as Miss whilst a married woman is known as Mrs. I have come across other women who wish to be called Mistress, if they are the extra woman of certain men.