what's the difference between mrs. and ms.?

Question

I can't tell when I should be using miss, misses, mrs. or ms. Can someone set me straight?

Answer 1

It's already been said; Miss is unmarried, including widowed, mrs is married, ms can be either. I just wanted to add not everyone who uses 'ms' does so for feminist reasons; security can play a part too. Some single friends who live in not too nice areas use this and my mom (widowed) also keeps using mrs; she'd rather not let everyone who sees a piece of mail know she's a single elderly lady.

Answer 2

This is a tough one. Sometime in the 60's I believe the more liberated of us females came up with the idea that women should have a generic title as men do. Ms. is to women what Mr. is to men. By calling a woman Ms. we didn't have to know if she was married or single. This worked particularly well in business. It helped me when I wrote business letters to women. The tough part is that some women don't like to be called Ms. So again, we risked insulting a woman. I would recommend calling a woman Mrs. if you know she is married or a widow. If you are uncertain, call her Ms. If she corrects you, don't take it personally.

Answer 3

Mrs. is a married woman
Miss is an unmarried (usually also young) woman
Ms. is a woman with unknown marital status

Many unmarried older women use Ms. because they feel that Miss is too "young" a title
Many divorced women also use Ms. to separate their previous married life from their new single life
When you are formally addressing a woman who you don't know or are not sure of her marital status you use Ms.

Answer 4

The title may be used with the last name alone, or with the first and last name. Traditionally, the title "Mrs" was used only with the husband's full name: for example, "Mrs Thomas Davis", for a married woman or widow.
The separation of Miss and Mrs became problematic as women entered the workforce following industrialization. Women who became famous or well known in their professional circles before marriage often kept their birth names, stage names or noms de plume. Miss became a default title for celebrities but this also proved problematic, as when a married woman did use her husband’s name but was still referred to as ‘Miss’.
It is now rather uncommon for women to use their husband's first name, except in compounds such as "Mr and Mrs Joe Bloggs". The form is still used in formal invitations, and when the husband is famous or well-known in business or professional circles (Mrs Avery Fisher) or when a woman is making a particular point ("I am Mrs Norman Maine.").

A current discussion in etiquette is the question of how to address married couples in which the wife does not choose to use her husband's name, or uses a title other than "Mrs", such as "Dr.". Etiquette writer Judith Martin ("Miss Manners") recommends addressing the couple on separate lines Mr. Tom White and Ms. Tara White

Answer 5

I can't believe all the errors in the answers. Maybe I know this because I was around when the term was coined.

First off:
1. miss is for unmarried women
2. missus or the abbreviation Mrs. is for married or widowed women.
3. Ms. (pronounced Miz) is the one I was around for when it came into popularity. It's for women who don't care for others to know whether they are married or not. It was the women's movement answer to Mr. It's also used in business if you're not sure if the woman you are dealing with is married or not.

Answer 6

This is getting tricky now. If unsure and using a title is the protocol when addressing an adult woman use Ms. unless introduced to you otherwise.

Miss is an unmarried female. Mrs is a married female. Ms is neutral. Woman use this title when they don't want reference to their marital status. Usually used in business.

Answer 7

Ms. is used in business. Miss is usually used casually or for a young woman (teenager, etc.) and Mrs. is used for a married woman.

Answer 8

Mrs- obviously for married woman
Miss- Non married/Singles
Ms.- These are usually used for those who are married, but too young to be called madam so its ms. something..

but out of respect when u wanna address somebody, jus say, "excuse me miss". That way u wont offend them in any way...(hope this helps)

Answer 9

you say mrs or misses if that person is married,ms or miss is if they are not married but they are an adult.

hope this will help you

Answer 10

your a wise guy lol!!!! Otherwise use miss if she is young, or if you want to make her feel young, misses or mrs if you know she is married, ms is for the older(older than maybe 30 that you are unsure if she is married, divorced, widowed or just independant.