Paronyms

Paronyms or paronym words  are words that are spelled similarly and are pronounced similarly, but have different meanings. Paronymy relations are studied through semantics.

Examples of paronyms:

absorb/absolve

• We will try to absorb all this water with sponges. (sip)
• After confession, the priest absolved all the faithful of their sins. (hold harmless)

assess/earn

• We will take a test to check your knowledge. (evaluate, compare)
• The entrepreneur always manages to earn profits on his investments. (to obtain)

knight/gentleman

• All the knights that were part of the king‘s cavalry participated in the battle. (man riding a horse)
• My husband is a true gentleman , he always opens doors for me to pass. (polite and courteous man)

compliance/length

• The length of the fabric I bought is 3.50 meters. (size, magnitude)
• Give my regards to your grandfather. (salutation)

report/dilate

• One of the students in the class reported the colleague who kicked the door and broke the glass. (report)
• Eating that much, you’ll end up distending your stomach. (extend, extend)

leader/diligent

• The company’s director declined to comment on its operation. (person who directs, manages)
• My employee is diligent in carrying out her duties. (expedited, applied)

Discriminate/Discriminate

• She felt discriminated against for not being able to join that club. (differentiate, segregate)
• In many countries there is discussion about decriminalizing the use of some drugs. (decriminalize, innocent)

stuff/stew

• My father had the old armchair in the living room upholstered. (put upholstery)
• I’m going to stew this meat with peas and carrots. (braise)

fluvial/pluvial

• The rate of precipitation in a rain forest is very high. (related to rain)
• Many use river transport daily. (relating to river)

immerse/emerge

• Let’s try to stop this car from plunging further into the lake. (to dive)
• Divers will surface after an hour of deep sea exploration. (come up)

Immigrate/emigrate

• The Portuguese royal family immigrated to Brazil. (entering a new country)
• The Portuguese royal family emigrated from Portugal. (leave your country)

imminent/eminent

• We have to evacuate this building which is in imminent danger . (immediate)
• Christ the Redeemer appears prominently in the sky of Rio de Janeiro. (high, top)

inflict/infringe

• The judge will inflict a huge fine on all drunk drivers. (to apply)
• He broke traffic laws with very aggressive driving. (transgress)

rectify/ratify

• This badly written document needs to be rectified . (to correct)
• I ratify everything I have already said on the subject. (Confirm)

traffic/traffic

• There is traffic jam due to heavy traffic . (Traffic)
• Every day we hear news about drug trafficking . (clandestine trade)

synthesizing

Paronymous words :

• Phonetics (sound) : similar
• Spelling (writing) : similar
• Meaning : different

Paronyms and homonyms

Paronymous words are often confused with homonymous words (or homonyms), which are pronounced the same but have different meanings.