Enamor vs. Enamour – What’s the Difference?

Enamor vs. Enamour – What’s the Difference? compares spelling, regional usage, tone, emotion, and meaning in American and British English today.

The words enamor and enamour are identical in meaning but differ in spelling, with enamor primarily used in American English and enamour more common in British English. This small spelling difference can create confusion among readers, writers, students, and English learners, especially when they encounter the words in different sentences and forms such as enamored and enamoured. Both versions express a strong feeling of love, admiration, deep affection, or being emotionally drawn toward someone or something beautiful, inspiring, or charming. Their usage can also reflect regional preference, writing style, personal tone, cultural preference, and context.

In modern writing, either version may appear in romantic expression, poetry, a love letter, or everyday English. A person may become enamored by a smile, beauty, a city, a captivating performance, or a beloved person, while literature may use words such as romance, glamour, fascination, captivate, hearts, lovers, and spell to describe emotional attraction. Historical and literary examples, including references to Manchester United, José Mourinho, fairy forms, woodland ways, beautiful objects, sentiments, and unrequited love, show how enamour can appear in varied contexts. Understanding the history of the English language, vocabulary, spellings, meaning, and regional usage helps you choose the natural version for your audience while preserving the same emotional essence and lasting power of language.

Quick Answer: Enamor vs. Enamour

Enamor and enamour have the same meaning. The main difference is where each spelling is preferred.

• Enamor is the standard American English spelling.
• Enamour is the standard British English spelling.
• Both mean to cause someone to love, admire, like, or become strongly fascinated by something or someone.
• American English uses enamored and enamoring.
• British English uses enamoured and enamouring.
• The pronunciation is essentially the same.
• Neither spelling is inherently more correct than the other.

Cambridge labels enamor as a US form and enamour as a UK form. Merriam-Webster likewise describes enamour as the “chiefly British” spelling of enamour.

So, if you’re writing American English, choose enamor. If you’re writing British English, choose enamour.

Enamor vs. Enamour at a Glance

The simplest way to understand the distinction is to put the two forms side by side.

Feature	Enamor	Enamour
Meaning	To inspire love, admiration, or fascination	Same
Main variety	American English	British English
Part of speech	Verb	Verb
Pronunciation	Essentially the same	Essentially the same
Past form	enamored	enamoured
Present participle	enamoring	enamouring
Common construction	enamored of/with	enamoured of/with
Best choice for US writing	Yes	Usually no
Best choice for UK writing	Usually no	Yes

The important point is that the meaning doesn’t change when the spelling changes. You’re looking at two regional forms of the same word rather than two separate vocabulary items.

What Does Enamor Mean?

Enamor is a verb that means to cause someone to develop strong feelings of love, admiration, attraction, or fascination.

Merriam-Webster gives two closely related senses: to inflame with love and to cause someone to feel a strong or excessive interest or fascination.

That second sense matters because enamor isn’t restricted to romance.

You can be enamored of a person, but you can also be enamored of a city, a painting, a musical style, a piece of technology, a landscape, or an idea.

For example:

• The old architecture enamored visitors with the charm of the village.
• She became enamored of classical literature.
• He was immediately enamored with the mountain scenery.
• The designer was enamored of the building’s unusual proportions.
• They became enamored with the simplicity of the new system.

In everyday conversation, words such as love, like, admire, and enjoy may sound more natural. Enamor tends to have a more formal, literary, or polished tone.

What Does Enamour Mean?

Enamour means the same thing as enamour. The only major difference is the spelling.

Cambridge identifies enamour as the UK formal form and lists enamor as its US equivalent.

For example:

• She was enamoured of the countryside.
• He became enamoured with the painting.
• The audience was enamoured by the performance.
• They were deeply enamoured of the old theater.
• The novelist became enamoured with the city’s atmosphere.

Notice something important: changing enamour to enamour doesn’t require you to change the meaning of the sentence.

Compare:

British: She was enamoured with the village.

American: She was enamored with the village.

The message stays the same. Only the spelling changes.

The Real Difference Between Enamor and Enamour

Here’s where the confusion usually disappears.

Enamor is the American spelling

In American English, the preferred spelling is enamor.

American English therefore uses:

• enamor
• enamored
• enamoring

Examples:

• The tourists were enamored with the city’s food.
• She became enamored of the author’s work.
• The children were enamored with the new game.

Enamour is the British spelling

In British English, the preferred spelling is enamour.

British English therefore uses:

• enamour
• enamoured
• enamouring

Examples:

• The tourists were enamoured with the city’s food.
• She became enamoured of the author’s work.
• The children were enamoured with the new game.

This follows a broader pattern found in several English spelling differences:

American English	British English
color	colour
favor	favour
honor	honour
behavior	behaviour
enamor	enamour
enamored	enamoured
enamoring	enamouring

Enamor vs. Enamour in American and British English

Regional spelling matters most when you’re producing formal or published writing.

Imagine an American company publishing an article for US customers. Using enamor keeps the spelling consistent with the variety of English its readers expect.

Now imagine a British magazine discussing a romantic novel. Enamour fits its established spelling conventions better.

Neither choice is wrong.

The real mistake is mixing varieties without a reason.

For example, a sentence such as this can look inconsistent in American writing:

She was enamoured with the color of the building.

The word enamoured follows British spelling while color follows American spelling. A consistent American version would be:

She was enamored with the color of the building.

A consistent British version would be:

She was enamoured with the colour of the building.

Consistency makes writing look deliberate rather than accidental.

Enamor vs. Enamour Pronunciation

The pronunciation of enamor and enamour is essentially the same despite their different spellings.

Cambridge gives US pronunciation as approximately /ɪˈnæm.ɚ/ and UK pronunciation as approximately /ɪˈnæm.ər/.

For an easy pronunciation guide, think of the word as roughly:

ih-NAM-er

The stress falls on the middle syllable.

The extra u in enamour doesn’t create a dramatic extra sound. That’s another reason readers sometimes assume the two words must be interchangeable in every context. They are interchangeable in meaning, but the preferred spelling depends on the English variety.

How to Use Enamor in a Sentence

Because enamor is a transitive verb, it can describe something that causes another person to feel strong affection or fascination.

Enamor with “of”

The construction enamored of has a long-established history and remains correct.

Examples:

• She was enamored of the coastal town.
• He became enamored of her confidence and humor.
• The students were enamored of the professor’s teaching style.
• I became enamored of the quiet pace of country life.

Merriam-Webster notes that enamor is usually used in the passive with of when expressing the sense of being affected by love.

Enamor with “with”

Enamored with is also common, particularly when describing fascination or admiration.

Examples:

• She was enamored with the new design.
• The children were enamored with the colorful illustrations.
• He became enamored with the idea of working abroad.
• The team was enamored with the new approach.

Merriam-Webster specifically notes that of and with commonly follow enamored.

Enamor in romantic contexts

The word can describe romantic attraction:

• He was enamored of her from the moment they met.
• She became enamored with the mysterious stranger in the novel.
• The two characters were deeply enamored of each other.

Still, the word doesn’t automatically imply romantic love.

Enamor with ideas and objects

This broader use is extremely important.

You might say:

• She was enamored with minimalist design.
• He became enamored of vintage motorcycles.
• The architect was enamored with natural light.
• Readers became enamored of the author’s storytelling style.

How to Use Enamour in a Sentence

The British form works in the same grammatical situations.

Enamour of

She was enamoured of the countryside.

He became enamoured of the character’s determination.

Enamour with

The visitors were enamoured with the historic district.

She became enamoured with the simplicity of the design.

Enamour in negative statements

An especially useful feature of enamoured is its frequent appearance in negative expressions.

For example:

She wasn’t particularly enamoured with the proposal.

This doesn’t necessarily mean she hated it. It usually means she didn’t like or admire it very much.

Oxford’s Advanced Learner’s Dictionary notes that enamoured is formal and often appears in negative sentences.

That makes expressions such as these natural:

• not enamored with
• not enamored of
• less than enamored
• not particularly enamored
• not exactly enamored

These phrases often soften criticism.

Instead of saying:

I hate the proposal.

Someone might say:

I’m not exactly enamored with the proposal.

The second sentence sounds considerably more restrained.

Read More: Is It Grammatically Correct to Say “Dear All”?

Enamored vs. Enamoured

The spelling difference doesn’t disappear when you change the verb into its participial or adjective-like form.

Enamored is the American form.

Enamoured is the British form.

Merriam-Webster defines enamored as being affected by strong feelings of love, admiration, or fascination and lists enamoured as the British variant.

American English	British English
enamored	enamoured
She was enamored of the city.	She was enamoured of the city.
He wasn’t enamored with the plan.	He wasn’t enamoured with the plan.
They became enamored of the culture.	They became enamoured of the culture.

This form is arguably more common in everyday writing than the base verb enamor because people frequently describe a person’s existing emotional state.

Enamoring vs. Enamouring

The present participle follows the same spelling distinction.

American English

enamoring

Example:

The charming little town was enamoring visitors from around the world.

British English

enamouring

Example:

The charming little town was enamouring visitors from around the world.

Merriam-Webster lists enamoring among the forms of enamor and identifies enamouring as the British spelling.

In normal prose, however, these forms occur less often than enamored/enamoured.

Enamor vs. Enamour: Word Origin and History

The history of these words explains the connection between love and enamor.

Merriam-Webster traces enamor through Middle English enamouren to Anglo-French enamourer, ultimately connecting it with amour, meaning “love.” The dictionary records its first known use in the 14th century.

The history can be summarized like this:

en- + amour → enamour → enamor

The word therefore has a deeply established connection with affection and love. It isn’t a modern invention or a recent spelling experiment.

The British -our form preserves a spelling associated with the word’s historical development, while American English uses the streamlined -or spelling.

Common Mistakes With Enamor and Enamour

A few errors appear repeatedly when writers encounter these words.

Mistake: Treating them as different words

Enamor and enamour don’t express different levels of affection.

They aren’t like admiration versus love. They’re spelling variants.

Mistake: Assuming enamour is incorrect

It’s not.

Enamour is a legitimate British English spelling. Merriam-Webster explicitly identifies it as a chiefly British spelling of enamor.

Mistake: Assuming enamor is incorrect outside America

That’s also too simplistic.

British writers may encounter or use enamor in American material. The spelling becomes especially relevant when following a particular regional style guide.

Mistake: Mixing related spellings

Avoid combinations such as:

She was enamoured with the color of the building.

If you’re intentionally writing American English, use:

She was enamored with the color of the building.

For British English:

She was enamoured with the colour of the building.

Mistake: Using the word when “like” would be clearer

Enamor carries a fairly strong emotional sense.

If you simply enjoy a sandwich, saying you’re enamored with the sandwich may sound playful or exaggerated. If you genuinely have a powerful fascination with a subject, however, the word fits beautifully.

Which Spelling Should You Use?

The decision is straightforward.

Choose “enamor” for American English

Use enamor when:

• Your audience primarily uses American English.
• You’re following US spelling conventions.
• You’re writing American academic material.
• You’re preparing US-focused website content.
• You’re editing an American publication.

Example:

The audience became enamored with the band’s energetic performance.

Choose “enamour” for British English

Use enamour when:

• You’re following British English.
• Your publication uses British spelling.
• Your audience is primarily British.
• You’re maintaining British spelling in an edited text.

Example:

The audience became enamoured with the band’s energetic performance.

Keep quotations unchanged

If you’re quoting a British source, don’t silently change enamoured to enamored.

Likewise, don’t alter enamour simply because you’re writing for British readers when the original wording matters.

The goal is to preserve the intended source language when quotation accuracy matters.

Enamor vs. Enamour Examples Side by Side

Seeing the two forms together makes the distinction much easier to remember.

American English	British English
She was enamored with the city.	She was enamoured with the city.
He became enamored of the author.	He became enamoured of the author.
They were enamored with the new design.	They were enamoured with the new design.
The children became enamored of the story.	The children became enamoured of the story.
She wasn’t enamored with the proposal.	She wasn’t enamoured with the proposal.
He was deeply enamored of classical music.	He was deeply enamoured of classical music.

The pattern is wonderfully predictable:

-or → American English

-our → British English

That pattern applies to this word and several familiar spelling pairs, although English has plenty of exceptions elsewhere.

A Practical Case Study: Choosing the Right Form

Consider two writers describing the same travel experience.

American publication

After spending a week in the historic district, Maya became enamored with the city’s architecture. She loved the narrow streets, colorful buildings, and quiet cafés.

The spelling enamored fits American English.

British publication

After spending a week in the historic district, Maya became enamoured with the city’s architecture. She loved the narrow streets, colourful buildings, and quiet cafés.

Here, enamoured and colourful fit British English.

The experience hasn’t changed. Neither has Maya’s emotion. Only the regional spelling has changed.

That’s the heart of enamor vs. enamour.

Enamor and Enamour Memory Trick

A simple memory device can save you from second-guessing the spelling.

Think:

US = enamor

UK = enamour

Then connect the pattern with familiar pairs:

• US color → UK colour
• US favor → UK favour
• US honor → UK honour
• US enamor → UK enamour

For the related form:

• US enamored
• UK enamoured

Once the pattern becomes familiar, the extra u stops looking mysterious.

Enamor vs. Enamour: Key Facts

Here are the most useful facts to remember:

• Enamor and enamour have the same core meaning.
• Enamor is the preferred American spelling.
• Enamour is the preferred British spelling.
• Both words function as verbs.
• Both can describe romantic feelings.
• Both can describe strong admiration or fascination.
• Enamored is the American form.
• Enamoured is the British form.
• Enamoring is the American form.
• Enamouring is the British form.
• The word has roots in Middle English and Anglo-French.
• Its history connects to amour, meaning love.
• The word dates back to the 14th century.
• Enamored of and enamored with are both established constructions.

FAQs

1. Is enamor and enamour the same word?

Yes. Enamor and enamour have the same basic meaning: to fill someone with love, admiration, or strong affection. The main difference is their spelling and regional preference.

2. Which spelling is used in American English?

Enamor is the standard spelling in American English. For example, “She was enamored by the beautiful city.”

3. Which spelling is preferred in British English?

Enamour is more common in British English. Its related form is enamoured, which carries the same meaning as American enamored.

4. Does enamor have a different meaning from enamour?

No. There is no meaningful difference in their definition. Both describe being strongly attracted to, charmed by, or filled with love and admiration.

5. Are enamored and enamoured different?

They are simply different regional spellings. Enamored is generally associated with American English, while enamoured is preferred in British English.

6. Can I use enamor in British English?

You can, but enamour is generally more natural in British English. Your choice should match your audience, regional style, and overall writing convention.

7. Can I use enamour in American English?

Yes, readers will understand it, but enamor is the more familiar spelling in American English. Using the expected regional form can make your writing feel more consistent.

8. Can enamor describe romantic feelings?

Yes. Enamor can describe strong romantic attraction, love, or fascination. Someone can become enamored with another person, a smile, a place, or even an idea.

9. What does enamour mean in a sentence?

Enamour means to strongly attract, charm, or fill someone with admiration. For example, “The beauty of the city enamoured every visitor.”

10. How can I remember the difference between enamor and enamour?

Remember the regional spelling: enamor is commonly used in American English, while enamour is commonly used in British English. Their meaning remains the same.

Conclusion

Enamor and enamour are two spellings of the same word, and their main distinction comes from regional English usage rather than meaning. American English generally favors enamor, while British English commonly uses enamour. Both words express feelings of love, admiration, affection, attraction, or fascination. The related forms enamored and enamoured follow the same spelling pattern.

Choosing between the two depends mainly on your audience, writing style, and regional preference. Once you understand this simple spelling difference, the words become much easier to recognize and use. Whether you’re writing everyday English, romantic prose, poetry, or a love letter, both forms can communicate the same emotional idea clearly and naturally.