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Paronomasia

Device
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Wordplay based on similar-sounding words; classical term for a pun.

Detailed Definition
Paronomasia, commonly known as punning, is the poetic use of words that sound alike but differ in meaning, spelling, or origin to create layered interpretations, wit, or ambiguity; far from mere wordplay, skilled paronomasia can deepen thematic resonance—such as Shakespeare’s “grave”/“gravedigger” puns in Hamlet—by exploiting phonetic similarity to suggest conceptual connections between life, death, and language itself.
Example
Example in poetry:
Paronomasia: “Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana”; Shakespeare’s “Ask for me tomorrow, and you shall find me a grave man” (Romeo and Juliet); Multilingual puns in Nuyorican poetry; Homophonic wordplay in Lewis Carroll’s “Jabberwocky”
Additional Notes
Wordplay using similar-sounding words for effect. Pun or sound-based wit. Common in Renaissance verse and metaphysical poetry for intellectual play.
Other Meanings of “Paronomasia”
Also Known As
pun paronymy Adnomination Wordplay
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