Fulfill Vs. Fulfil: What's the Difference?

How do you spell fulfill? Fulfill is one of the few English words with more than one spelling. Depending on the person’s geographical location, the word can be spelled with one or two l’s. While the preferred spelling in British English is fulfil, the Americans spell it as ‘fulfill.’ Both forms are common in Canadian writing.

Fulfill Vs. Fulfil: The Difference

To ‘fulfill’ is to accomplish or complete a task. The word ‘fulfill’ indicates that something has been achieved, effected, or carried out. For example, “I fulfilled my promise to prepare for our next camping trip.”

‘Fulfil‘ is a spelling common in British English, while ‘fulfill‘ is the preferred form in American English. Both spellings are correct and mean the same thing. The spelling preferences also apply to fulfilment and fulfillment. However, other inflected forms of the word retain the double l regardless of geographical location. For example: fulfills,fulfilled, fulfilling, and fulfiller.

How do you Spell Fulfill?

The word has two accurate spellings, depending on preferences and geographic location. You can spell the word as F-U-L-F-I-L-L or F-U-L-F-I-L. Where fulfil is the British English spelling, fulfill is the American English spelling. Both words have the same meaning and can be used in the same contexts.

Fulfill or fulfil is a disyllabic word with five consonants and two vowels. The word’s phonetic pronunciation is /fʊlˈfɪl/, with the stress on the second syllable as in ful-FILL or ful-FIL. It’ll be best to use a dictionary to learn the word’s correct pronunciation.

You must never spell the word as full-fill or full-fil. This is wrong and unacceptable in writing.

Fulfill: Part of Speech

The word ‘fulfill’ is a verb. It means; “to satisfy, bring to completion, comply with, or carry out.” It takes the following verb forms: simple present tense – fulfills, present participle – fulfilling, and past tense – fulfilled.

Sentence Examples

I got an email saying I didn’t fulfill the requirements for the scholarship.
My mum fulfilled her promise; she got me a dress for my birthday.
You should fulfill your promise to Eden.
My job is so fulfilling; I could spend all day working.
Jerry is a man of his words; he always fulfills his promises.
My dad embraced hard work and fulfilled his dreams.

person holding on red pen while writing on book — Photo by lilartsy on Unsplash

To Wrap Up

How do you spell fulfill? Fulfill is a verb that means ‘to achieve,’ ‘to obey,’ or ‘to carry out.’ The term is spelled as FULFILL or FULFIL based on dialect and geographical location. The former is the most preferred in American English, while the latter is preferred in British English. Both spellings are correct and have the same meaning.