Gore Vidal
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Is It Grammatically Correct to Say as per?
Many wonder whether the as in as per is superfluous. Wouldn’t the phrase “per your instructions” mean much the same thing as “as per your instructions?” In that case, would it be incorrect to insert the extra word?
The fact is that both per and as per have existed in English in the sense “according to” for a very long time–since the 15th and 16th centuries, respectively. The choice of which to use (or avoid) is entirely a matter of taste. The more ponderous as per is often found in business and legal prose, or in writing that attempts to adopt a formal tone. It is not incorrect to use, but some find it overly legalistic and counsel avoiding it for that reason. On the other hand, it has been used to good effect in facetious mock-business-English (“as per the President’s shiny new Environmental Policy Act”). As in so many matters of diction, the tonal needs of a particular passage should guide your choice.
Examples of as per in a Sentence
Kristan Hawkins, Newsweek, 7 Feb. 2025
The movie’s terrifying dénouement emerges in another seven-minute shot, in which hints and premonitions are transformed into passions and horrors and in which landscape—and, as per the title, a seascape—appear not simply as backdrops but as dramatic and intellectual engines of the story.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 5 Feb. 2025
Some of those with serious sentences were due to be released to Egypt, as per the terms of the ceasefire deal agreed to in Doha.
—Mick Krever, CNN, 30 Jan. 2025
Talks are beginning to heat up between defenseman Ivan Provorov and the Columbus Blue Jackets on a long-term extension as per The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun.
—John Yoo and John Shu, Newsweek, 24 Jan. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“As per.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/as%20per. Accessed 11 Feb. 2025.
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