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Webster 1913 Edition


Heteronym

Het′er-o-nym

,
Noun.
That which is heteronymous; a thing having a different name or designation from some other thing; – opposed to homonym.
Het′er-on′y-mous-ly
,
adv.

Definition 2024


heteronym

heteronym

English

Noun

heteronym (plural heteronyms)

  1. (linguistics) A word having the same spelling as another, but a different pronunciation and meaning.
    Agape, "astonished" or "wide open," is a heteronym of agape, "Christian love."
  2. (literature) A fictitious character created by an author for the purpose of writing in a different style.

Synonyms

Translations

See also

An Euler diagram showing the relationship between these -nyms.
Different Meanings
nym Sound Spelling Category
homonym same same
heteronym different same (cat)
homograph not specified same
homophone same different (cat)
heterophone different different
synonym different different
  • List of English heteronyms defined in Wiktionary