where•as
Pronunciation: (hwâr-az', wâr-), [key] — conj., n., pl. where•as•es.
—conj. - while on the contrary: One arrived promptly, whereas the others hung back.
- it being the case that, or considering that (used esp. in formal preambles).
—n. - a qualifying or introductory statement, esp. one having “whereas” as the first word: to read the whereases in the will.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.