III. Понятие паронимии

В отличие от синонимии и антонимии паронимия основана на формальном сходстве между словами. Термин «пароним» (из греч. para - «около» и onima - «имя») относится к словам, обладающим близостью как формальной, так и (частично) семантической структуры, и обозначает еще одну универсалию в системе лексических отношений. Так, паронимы многих языков обладают сходством (близостью) звучания, но в английском языке возможны также и «глазные» паронимы, близость между которыми проявляется только в письменной, воспринимаемой зрительно форме (adage/adagio). Паронимы могут частично совпадать по морфологическому составу, нередко обладая этимологическим родством (рус. одеть/ надеть; англ. conservatory/conservatoir).

Паронимия и парономазия. Способность паронимов к смешению в речи привела к тому, что под термином «паронимия» нередко объединяются два понятия - собственно паронимия, т. е. вид языковых системных отношений между лексическими единицами, и парономазия (или парономасия) - стилистический прием, состоящий в нарочитом сближении слов, имеющих сходство в звучании. Эти слова не обязательно должны быть паронимами, часто для целей автора бывает достаточно случайного звукового совпадения. Использование парономазии позволяет усилить выразительность текста; особенно часто этот прием встречается в поэзии.

Commonly Confused Words

accept, except, and expect

adapt and adopt

adverse and averse

advice and advise

affect and effect

aggravate and irritate

all ready and already

all together and altogether

allude and elude

allusion and illusion

allusive and elusive

a lot (much, many)

altar and alter

ambiguous and ambivalent

amoral and immoral

amount and number

amuse and bemuse

anxious and eager

anyone and any one

appraise and apprise

are and our

assure, ensure, and insure

baited and bated

beside and besides

breath and breathe

capital and capitol

censor and censure

choose, chose, and chosen

chord and cord

cite and site

click and clique

climactic and climatic

clothes and cloths

collaborate and cooperate

complement and compliment

conscience and conscious

continual and continuous

council and counsel

days and daze

dazed and dazzled

defective and deficient

deprecate and depreciate

desert and dessert

device and devise

discreet and discrete

disinterested and uninterested

distinct and distinctive

dual and duel

economic and economical

eminent and imminent

envelop and envelope

epigram, epigraph, and epitaph

eventually and ultimately

every day and everyday

explicit and implicit

farther and further

few (fewer) and little (less)

flaunt and flout

flounder and founder

foreword and forward

formally and formerly

fortunate and fortuitous

full and fulsome

gourmand and gourmet

grisly and grizzly

hanged and hung

hardy and hearty

historic and historical

hoard and horde

home and hone

hoping and hopping

imply and infer

in and into

incredible and incredulous

ingenious and ingenuous

intense and intent

its and it's

last and latter

later and latter

lay and lie

lead and led

leave and let

lend and loan

lessen and lesson

liable and libel

lightening and lightning

literally and figuratively

loath and loathe

loose and lose

many and much

marital and martial

maybe and may be

media and medium

militate and mitigate

miner and minor

moot and mute

noisome and noisy

official and officious

obsolescent and obsolete

pair, pare, and pear

passed and past

peace and piece

perquisite and prerequisite

persecute and prosecute

personal and personnel

perspective and prospective

perverse and perverted

pore and pour

precede and proceed

premier and premiere

prescribe and proscribe

principal and principle

quell and quench

quiet, quit, and quite

quotation and quote

rack and wrack

rain, reign, and rein

raise and rise

rational and rationale

ravage and ravish

recourse and resource

regretful and regrettable

respectively and respectfully

review and revue

riffle and rifle

role and roll

stationary and stationery

statue and statute

sensual and sensuous

serve and service

set and sit

shall and will

shear and sheer

should and would

simple and simplistic

sometime, some time, and sometimes

tail and tale

temerity and timidity

than and then

their, there, and they're

to and too

troop and troupe

vain, vane, and vein

vary and very

veracious and voracious

waist and waste

were, we're, and where

which and who

who and whom

whoever and whomever

whose and who's

young and youthful

your and you're