focussed

English

Alternative forms

• focused

Adjective

focussed (comparative more focussed, superlative most focussed)

1. (British) Alternative spelling of focused

Antonyms

• unfocussed

Verb

focussed

1. (British) simple past and past participle of focus

Usage notes

• The spelling focused is much more common in the US but also more common in the UK and Australia.
• Focussed violates the UK spelling rule that calls for a doubling of a final unsupported consonant when a suffix beginning with a vowel is appended, only when the final vowel is both short and accented, (cf no doubling in opened, covered, callused, biased, irises, bonuses), except when the final letter is L, which doubles also when the syllable is unaccented (cf travelled, levelled), and also in some cases where a prefix is added to an established word. But the point is clearly difficult in that the irregular spelling biassed is also relatively commonly seen.
• The Oxford English Dictionary describes the spelling focussed as irregular.
• The spelling focussed is a widely seen UK spelling but focused, (focuses, focusing) is more common in prestige publications.
• The spelling focussed is nowadays more common in Canada and New Zealand than in the UK.