“Offenses” or “Offences”—What's the difference?

Usage by country

Where each spelling is used

Of the 12 countries below, 2 prefer “offenses” and 9 prefer “offences”. Usage levels are out of 100; the more common spelling in each country is in bold.

Usage level out of 100 (if available).
Country	offenses	offences	Preference
United States	89	11	“offenses”
United Kingdom	4	96	“offences”
India	6	94	“offences”
Philippines	86	14	“offenses”
Canada	14	86	“offences”
Australia	5	95	“offences”
Liberia	0	0	Not enough data
Ireland	4	96	“offences”
New Zealand	8	92	“offences”
Jamaica	12	88	“offences”
Trinidad & Tobago	8	92	“offences”
Guyana	0	100	“offences”

Usage

Examples in context

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

“offenses”

…contraception, adultery and prostitution related offenses who were in prison.
…in Rivas, Nicaragua for sexual offenses.
Category:People convicted of drug offenses
Disorderly Conduct and Related Offenses
Some offenses, including the use of violence,…
…churned out yardage with ground-oriented offenses such as the wishbone or…
: Offenses and Penalties
…portrayed as involved in non-violent offenses.
…reduced the number of capital offenses to five (see Capital punishment…
…penalty even for minor drug-related offenses, such as possession of only…

“offences”

Racially or religiously aggravated offences
…$50 and $200 for subsequent offences, with the possibility of imprisonment…
…for high range drink driving offences.
…under section 20 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861,…
…the 1956 and 1967 Sexual Offences Acts, both of which yet…
…charge-sheet filed by the Economic Offences Wing of the Delhi police…
…over new allegations of sexual offences.
…- Section 42 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861…
…next match for the following offences:
Abduction, harassment and other offences against the person;

Examples are Wikipedia snippets under the CC ShareAlike 3.0 license.

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