When to use Canceled

Canceled‘ is used as the past tense of ‘cancel‘ when corresponding in American English.

  • The exams at Oxford were canceled after a flu outbreak.
  • The family canceled the trip to Las Vegas.
  • Is the ‘Born to Shine’ concert canceled?
  • I hope that the summit for addressing the general public issues isn’t canceled this time.

Canceled or Cancelled – Which One is Correct?

Canceled or Cancelled 

“American and British English have many similar habits when it comes to past and present participles: both double the final consonant of a word when it follows a short vowel and has the stress on the syllable attached to the suffix (such as remit/remitted/remitting). However, if the stress does not come on the syllable that attaches to the suffix then the final consonant is not doubled (as is the case with edit/edited/editing).” – Lynne Murphy

Canceled or cancelled is the past tense of the verb ‘cancel.’ Both spellings are right. It’s just that Americans prefer ‘canceled‘ or ‘canceling,’ whereas ‘cancelled‘ or ‘cancelling‘ is used in British English and other dialects. However, the word ‘cancelation’ is rarely used and is technically correct, while ‘cancellation’ is by far the most widely-used spelling.

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Difference between Cancelled vs. Cancelled

The difference between canceled vs. cancelled is the same that we’ll find in other American and British spellings. For example, colour and colour; honour and honour; and favourite and favourite. In British English, the spellings outlined in Samuel Johnson’s A Dictionary of the English Language are used. Whereas, American publications use the spellings given in Noah Webster’s An American Dictionary of the English Language....

When to use Cancelled

‘Cancelled‘ is used as the past tense of ‘cancel’ when corresponding in British English....

When to use Canceled

‘Canceled‘ is used as the past tense of ‘cancel‘ when corresponding in American English....

Cancelled vs. Canceled: American Examples

(i) Jerry and Joanna couldn’t muster enough mangoes to bake a nice mango pie, so they just canceled the county barbecue....

Cancelled vs. Canceled: British (UK) Examples

(i) Since Nora’s pyjama party was cancelled, let’s line up for some sushi and drinks at the restaurant....

Cancelled vs. Canceled: Pronunciation

While pronouncing ‘cancel,’ we emphasize the first syllable. And, when a word is stressed on its final syllable, it generally takes two l’s before “ed.” For example, cancelled, compelled, rebelled, repelled, etc....

Conclusion

Thus, both words ‘canceled‘ and ‘cancelled‘ are used for the past tense of “cancel”, the one with single ‘l’ is more common in American English while the one with double ‘l’ is common in British English. Therefore, it’s a matter of location or who you are writing for while deciding whether to use two l’s or one. Also, American English just doubles the consonant if the stress is on the syllable attached to the suffix. Further, you can also check another article named “Gray vs Grey”....

FAQs on Canceled vs. Cancelled:

Q1. Which is correct: “canceled” or “cancelled”?...