Ways to Address a Woman
When you address a woman who you do not know personally, it is most appropriate to address her with the title Ms. or Ma'am until you know her marital status or professional rank. While Ms. is generally accepted for both married and unmarried women, knowing the marital status will help you to properly address the woman without being offensive.
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Ma'am or Madam
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Ma'am is a formal way to address a woman that you do not know personally. It can be used to address both married and unmarried woman. Madam is another polite way to address a woman you don't know, and it can also be used as a way to address the female head of a household.
Mrs.
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Mrs. is a formal way to address a married woman and is usually followed by the husband's last name. It is a conventional title that is used most commonly for married women unless you are addressing a woman who holds a high professional title or military rank before the surname. An example of usage is, "Hello Mrs. Johnson, how are you?"
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Ms.
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Ms. is used when addressing a woman whose marital status is either unknown or irrelevant and is used commonly in business practices where professionalism is high. Ms. is pronounced "mizz" and is different from Miss, which is pronounced as it is spelled.
Miss
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Miss is used to address a woman who is unmarried. It is generally used to address a younger woman and is often used to address girls as well. Miss can also be used as an epithet or before the name of an activity where a young woman is representative of the activity, such as Miss America or Miss Universe.
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References
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