homophonous

[huh-mof-uh-nuhs, hoh-]

adjective

1. identical in pronunciation.

homophonous

/ hɒˈmɒfənəs /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or denoting a homophone

Word History and Origins

Origin of homophonous¹

1745–55; < Greek homóphōnos of the same sound; homo-, phon-, -ous

Example Sentences

But she was hoisted by her own homophonous petard.

From Seattle Times

Netizens have replaced "quan", which means "rights", with a homophonous character meaning "fist", making it a somewhat derogatory term for feminists.

From BBC

Or that, at the age of thirty-eight, I still avoid using the common noun that is homophonous with my abuser’s name.

From The New Yorker

Reid’s play on words — Charles and David Koch share a homophonous name with a recreational drug — came less than a week after Reid called the brothers “un-American” for funding anti-Obamacare attack ads.

From Time

It delighted him that her name was homophonous with that of a singing bird: the loriot, or golden oriole, which duly has its place in “Catalogue d’Oiseaux.”

From New York Times

When To Use

What does homophonous mean?

Homophonous is used to describe words that are pronounced exactly the same.If two words are described as homophonous, it means they are homophones—words that sound the same but have different meanings, whether they’re spelled the same or not. There, their, and they’re are homophonous. So are bark (the sound a dog makes) and bark (the covering of a tree).As long as two (or more) words have the same pronunciation, they are homophonous.Example: Many English words are homophonous, which can make things confusing, even for native speakers.