Acronym vs Abbreviation vs Initialism.What's the difference???

We are conversant with Abbreviations and Acronyms but Initialism is something utterly new. At least for me. According to Merriam-Webster, Abbreviation is a shortened form of a written word or phrase used in place of the whole word or phrase. For instance, Amt is an abbreviation for 'amount, Dr. for Doctor, lb. for pound.

An acronym is a word from the first letters of each one of the words in a phrase.                    

 Examples:

• NATO(North Atlantic Treaty Organisation)
• ASAP(As soon as possible)
• RADAR(Radio detection and ranging)
• AIDS(Acquired immune Deficiency Syndrome)
• SWAT(Special weapons and tactics)

An initialism is actually the pronunciation of abbreviations that are pronounced one letter at a time.

They are a common component of both official and conversational English. An initialism is used in medical terminology, Business, Government.

Medical Initialisms

ENT(Ear, Nose, Throat)

EMT(Emergency Medical technicians)

ALS(Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis)

MRI(Magnetic Resonance Imaging)

Political Initialisms

MP(Member of Parliament)

FBI(Federal Bureau of Investigation)

MLA(Member of Legislative Assembly)

Business Initialisms

AT&T(American Telephone and telegraph)

BMW(Bayerische Motoren Werke)

KFC(Kentucky Fried Chicken)

IBM(International Business Machine)

Summary: