“Authorized” or “Authorised”—What's the difference?

Usage by country

Where each spelling is used

Of the 12 countries below, 6 prefer “authorized” and 5 prefer “authorised”. Usage levels are out of 100; the more common spelling in each country is in bold.

Usage level out of 100 (if available).
Country	authorized	authorised	Preference
United States	99	1	“authorized”
United Kingdom	23	77	“authorised”
India	33	67	“authorised”
Philippines	97	3	“authorized”
Canada	94	6	“authorized”
Australia	17	83	“authorised”
Liberia	0	0	Not enough data
Ireland	32	68	“authorised”
New Zealand	27	73	“authorised”
Jamaica	80	20	“authorized”
Trinidad & Tobago	68	32	“authorized”
Guyana	100	0	“authorized”

Usage

Examples in context

Real sentences for each spelling. Hover an example to copy it.

“authorized”

…crimes for which forfeiture was authorized, he noted.
…of the translators of the Authorized King James Version of the
…report is confidential, except as authorized by the school.
…spending stemming from the programs authorized by the conference agreement would…
It was authorized and jointly supported by the…
…Lincoln did not feel constitutionally authorized to extend the Emancipation Proclamation…
The ads.txt (Authorized Digital Sellers) initiative from the…
Despite being an authorized grape for the red, white…
In Rick Bragg's 2014 authorized biography, Jerry Lee Lewis: His…
…about 80 percent of its authorized strength and thus still not…

“authorised”

…the South Staffordshire Railway, also authorised on 3 August 1846, and…
Not authorised to be emblazoned.
…the canal junction where the authorised Birmingham and Fazeley Canal terminates…
The line was authorised under a treaty contracted by…
The authorised line was to cross the…
…established in 1952 and directly authorised by the Chinese Ministry of…
Authorised by the Waterloo and Whitehall…
Denis - The Authorised Biography of the Incomparable Compton
…revenue stamp that has been authorised for postal use.
…August 1914 the War Office authorised the formation of a reserve…

Examples are Wikipedia snippets under the CC ShareAlike 3.0 license.

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