Glamour is the spelling to reach for: it means alluring beauty, charm or style, as in the glamour of a Hollywood awards ceremony. Glamor is simply an uncommon variant of the same word, so when in doubt, write glamour.
The core difference
Glamour is the standard spelling; glamor is an uncommon variant of the same word.
- glamour — standard spelling: The awards ceremony was full of Hollywood glamour.
- glamor — uncommon variant spelling of glamour.
How to tell them apart
Unlike pairs such as color/colour, glamor is not simply the American form of glamour — glamour is the standard spelling on both sides of the Atlantic, and glamor turns up far less often, mostly in informal or trend-led American writing.
Glamour also carries an older, literary sense beyond fashion and fame: a magical spell that makes something appear more attractive than it really is, as when a witch casts a glamour to disguise a crumbling castle as a palace. The word actually comes from an alteration of the Middle English word that became grammar, a reminder that magic and learning were once closely linked in folklore.
