Definition of paronomasia Paronomasia

par•o•no•ma•si•a

We found 5 definitions of paronomasia from 5 different sources.

What does paronomasia mean?

Noun
paronomasia - a humorous play on words; "I do it for the pun of it"; "his constant punning irritated her"
		pun, punning, wordplay
		fun, sport, play activities that are enjoyable or amusing; "I do it for the fun of it"; "he is fun to have around"

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= antonym
= related word

paronomasia (n.)
A play upon words; a figure by which the same word is used in different senses, or words similar in sound are set in opposition to each other, so as to give antithetical force to the sentence; punning.

paronomasia
A figure of speech which consists of a deliberate confusion of similar words or phrases for rhetorical effect, whether humorous or serious.

paronomasia
par-ō-nō-mā′zhi-a, n. a rhetorical figure in which words similar in sound but different in meaning are set in opposition to each other: a play upon words—also Paronom′asy.—adjs. Paronomas′tic, -al.—ns. Par′onyme, Par′onym, a paronymous word—opp. to Homonym.—adj. Paron′ymous, formed by a slight change of word or name: derived from the same root: having the same sound, but different in spelling and meaning.—n. Paron′ymy, quality of being paronymous. [Gr. para, beside, onoma, name.]