“Patronizing” or “Patronising”—What's the difference?

Usage by country

Where each spelling is used

Of the 12 countries below, 5 prefer “patronizing” and 4 prefer “patronising”. Usage levels are out of 100; the more common spelling in each country is in bold.

Usage level out of 100 (if available).
Country	patronizing	patronising	Preference
United States	97	3	“patronizing”
United Kingdom	18	82	“patronising”
India	64	36	“patronizing”
Philippines	95	5	“patronizing”
Canada	95	5	“patronizing”
Australia	24	76	“patronising”
Liberia	0	0	Not enough data
Ireland	23	77	“patronising”
New Zealand	28	72	“patronising”
Jamaica	100	0	“patronizing”
Trinidad & Tobago	0	0	Not enough data
Guyana	0	0	Not enough data

Usage

Examples in context

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

“patronizing”

…dignified, forthright way, avoiding the patronizing depictions of ethnic minorities common…
…film "Refreshingly... doesn't adopt a patronizing tone toward either the period…
…2007, he was sued for patronizing Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh, an Islamist terror
…from baffled but impressed, to patronizing and dismissive.
…"struggle" for Harrison "against the patronizing restrictions of writing within and…
…with political aspirations who acts patronizing, condescending and impulsive.
…her husband's suicide, but his patronizing attitude backfires and prompts her…
…the show "manages to avoid patronizing that unpredictable audience, presenting historical…
…denigrating stereotypes, including well-meant but patronizing characterizations.
…trope, as perpetrating regressive and patronizing myths about women.

“patronising”

…of the American soldiers were patronising a male French prostitute and…
…could save their souls by patronising holy men who would pray…
…not over-indulging in the customary patronising patter you get from most…
…have been accused of being patronising, but reject these claims.
…which was viewed as being patronising to women.
…of the Palatinate, and, by patronising musicians, she earned for the…
…to her column as "predictably patronising, borderline sexist".
…they came to resent the patronising way many of the British…
…Chris was characterised by his patronising and illicit manner; contrasted in…
…to be forgiven (in a patronising and satiric manner).

Examples are Wikipedia snippets under the CC ShareAlike 3.0 license.

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