Although and even though have a similar meaning to despite and in spite of.

We use all of these words to say that a thing is surprising, unusual or unexpected in relation to
another thing. This is called concession.
While the meaning of these words is similar, there is a difference in how we use them.
Although and even though are conjunctions. They have the same meaning. Even
though is a little stronger than although.
We use these structures:
although + a clause
even though + a clause
Despite and in spite of are prepositions, and have the same meaning. They are used with
these structures:
despite + noun
despite + verb + -ing
in spite of + a noun
in spite of + verb + -ing
Although, even though vs. despite

The examples below show us that although / even though and despite / in spite ofare similar in
meaning, but are used differently.

although, even though despite, in spite of

(+ clause) (+ verb + -ing)

Even though he's a millionaire, he lives in a Despite / in spite of being a millionaire, he lives
very small flat. in a very small flat.

He lives in a very small flat even thoughhe's a He lives in a very small flat despite / in spite
millionaire. of being a millionaire.

Although / even though he's much older than Despite / in spite of being much older than the
the others, he won the race. others, he won the race.

He won the race although / even thoughhe's He won the race despite / in spite of being much
much older than the others. older than the others.

Even though / although it rained a lot, I Despite / in spite of the rain, I enjoyed the
enjoyed the holiday. holiday.

Even though / although they have a lot of Despite / in spite of their money, they're still not
money, they're still not happy. happy.
 Linking devices of contrast
Meaning and use
We can use different words and phrases to highlight a contrast between two parts of a
sentence. Some of these words and phrases are:
although, even though, despite, in spite of, however and but.

 Although we are the best of friends we still disagree from time to time.
 Even though we are the best of friends we still disagree from time to time.
 Despite being the best of friends we still disagree from time to time.
 In spite of being the best of friends we still disagree from time to time.
 We are the best of friends; we still disagree from time to time, however.
 We are the best of friends but we still disagree from time to time.

Form
Although / Even though
These conjunctions are used at the beginning of a clause. They introduce a contrast
between two ideas, sentences or clauses. They have similar meanings and are used in the
same way. Even though highlights the contrast more strongly than although.

 Even though / Although I did well at the interview I didn’t get the job.

Despite / in spite of
These are prepositions and are followed by nouns or noun phrases. They can’t be
followed directly by a verb phrase. If a verb is used it must be changed to the noun form
(gerund).

 Despite/ In spite of doing well at the interview I didn’t get the job.
 Despite my being really angry I tried not to show it.

A verb phrase can be used with these expressions by adding the fact after the preposition.

 Despite the fact/ In spite of the fact I did well at the interview I didn’t get the job.

 However

However is an adverb. It comes after the part of the sentence that is being contrasted. It
can go in different parts of the clause.

 I did well at the interview. However, I didn’t get the job.

 I did well at the interview; I didn’t, however, get the job.
 I did well at the interview; I didn’t get the job, however.

But
This is a conjunction that links two parts of a sentence together. It goes before the clause
that has the contrast.

 I did well at the interview but I didn’t get the job.

 I was really angry but I tried not show it.

Take note: Though and although

Though is a shortened form of although. Notice though that although we say even
though, we don’t say even although.
Take note: However at the beginning of a sentence
It is not a mistake to use however at the beginning of sentence. However, some people
feel that is. If you want to avoid it, use a semi-colon after the first clause rather than a
full-stop.

 I did well at the interview; however, I didn’t get the job