The conjunction whilst means the same as while. It’s usually avoided in American English because it can sound archaic or even pretentious. There is less prejudice against whilst in British English, however, and the word is fairly common in British publications (though some British style books do recommend using while instead of whilst).
Examples
Some American writers apparently haven’t gotten the memo about whilst. It seems to appear especially often in sports writing—for example:
Dennis Pitta, whilst sporting the fu manchu, had one of this best NFL games to date and scored a touchdown. [Baltimore Sports Report]
Dayton had big wins against Minnesota and Wake Forest, all whilst trying to sneak into the Top 25. [Hustle Belt]
Whilst firing a coordinator and benching a quarterback is just the tip of the iceberg””the house-clearing begins in earnest this coming offseason””it does feel like a new beginning of sorts. [Bleacher Report]
We can’t explain why these writers use whilst instead of while. Perhaps they just like how it sounds.
