heteronym

American  

[het-er-uh-nim] / ˈhɛt ər ə nɪm /

noun

1. a word spelled the same as another but having a different sound and meaning, as lead (to conduct) and lead (a metal).

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heteronym British  

/ ˈhɛtərəʊˌnɪm, ˌhɛtəˈrɒnɪməs /

noun

1. one of two or more words pronounced differently but spelt alike Compare homograph

   the two English words spelt ``bow'' are heteronyms

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Other Word Forms

• heteronymous adjective
• heteronymously adverb

Etymology

Origin of heteronym

From the Late Greek word heterṓnymos, dating back to 1880–85. See hetero-, -onym

Example Sentences

“Countless lives inhabit us,” his heteronym Ricardo Reis proclaims atop the poem “I’m Missing,” a paean to multivalence: “I’m more than one. / It’s too fun for me.”

From New York Times • Nov. 30, 2021

I remember once when a heteronym caused me much amusement.

From Washington Post • May 28, 2021

Thanks to John Ficarra for the present in his May 16 Sunday Opinion essay, “How I wound up with a wound from heteronyms,” of a new word to add to my vocabulary: heteronym.

From Washington Post • May 28, 2021

He spent a lifetime exploring the multiplicity of his inner self this way, using a literary idea he called heteronym to write in many styles as different people with rich backstories.

From Washington Post • Sep. 15, 2016

Each heteronym was given a biography, psychology, politics, religion, even physical description, and the main characters were interconnected.

From The Guardian • Dec. 4, 2010