Paronomasia
noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A pun or play on words. countable, rhetoric, uncountable
"Oh, by the way, any attempt to present me with any kind of testimonial will result in stern measures. And when I say stern measures, I am indulging in a paronomasia, or play on words! Good night."
- 2 a humorous play on words wordnet
- 3 The use of puns. countable, rhetoric, uncountable
"Paronomasia to the sense alludes, When words but little varied it includes."
Example
More examples"Oh, by the way, any attempt to present me with any kind of testimonial will result in stern measures. And when I say stern measures, I am indulging in a paronomasia, or play on words! Good night."
Etymology
From Latin paronomasia, from Ancient Greek παρονομασία (paronomasía, “play upon words which sound alike”), from παρα- (para-) + ὀνομασία (onomasía, “naming”).
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.