paronym

American

[par-uh-nim] / ˈpær ə nɪm /

noun

Grammar.

a paronymous word.

paronym British

/ pəˈrɒnɪməs, ˈpærənɪm /

noun

linguistics a cognate word

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

paronymic adjective
paronymously adverb

Etymology

Origin of paronym

1840–50; < Greek parṓnymon, neuter of parṓnymos formed by a slight change in name, derivative, equivalent to par- par- + -ōnymos, adj. derivative of ónyma name

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Names and words which are somewhat alike in sound, paronyms, as they are called by grammarians, may be taken or mistaken one for the other.

From Project Gutenberg

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023