30 Examples of Tonic or Accentual Paronyms

The tonic paronyms They are the words that have a relationship of similarity in their sound (but not in meaning): they coincide in their tonality but not in the location in the tonic syllable. For example: revolver / revolver

Tonic paronyms are also known as accentual paronyms, since the difference between the words is in the accentuation. What happens in these cases is that one of the two has an orthographic accent and the other does not, or both have it but in a different syllable.

Conjugated verbs of two different tenses or modes are not considered tonic paronyms, even when they conform to the definition, as happens with the verb ‘to laugh’: I laugh (present of the indicative) / andhe laughed (past tense of the indicative).

In Spanish there are a large number of pairs of words that are paronyms because they differ by one letter, for example, a word that has an ‘h’ with a word that does not have the same word, or one that is written with an ‘s’ with respect to another that is written with ‘c’, or one that is written with ‘b’ relative to another that is written with ‘v’.

Examples of stressed or accentual paronyms

Stir (verb to mix)
Stir (weapon)

Park (green space)
Park (type of wooden floor)

Deposit (verb “to deposit”)
Deposit (storage space)

Sheet (piece of cloth)
Sheet (biome)

The (Article)
The (pronoun)

Secretary (professional role)
Secretary (office or institution)

Short (little length)
Short (verb “to cut”)

Coat (article of clothing)
Coat (South wind)

Artery (blood vessels)
Artery (intelligence)

Copper (chemical element)
Copper (verb “to collect”)

Lack (transgression)
Lack (verb “to miss”)

Dance (dance)
Dance (verb “to dance”)

Circle (verb “circular”)
Circle (circumference)

Nickname (substituent name)
Nickname (living being without feet)

Penny pincher (that saves)
Penny pincher (of a Eurasian people)

Meat (animal feed)
Meat (credential)

How (interrogative adverb)
What (Verb eat”)

You (possessive pronoun)
You (personal pronoun

Deal (commitment)
Deal (verb “to treat”)

Finished (space of time)
Term (verb “to finish”)

Lies (lack of truth)
Lies (verb “lie”)

Further (but)
Plus (quantity warning)

potato (tuber)
Dad (dad)

Yes (condition nexus)
Yes (adverb of affirmation)

Knew (woman of wisdom)
Knew (verb “to know”)

This (demonstrative pronoun)
Is (verb to be”)

Pin (item to hold)
Pin (verb “nail”)

Test (literary piece)
Test (verb “to try”)

Domestic (animal)
Domestic (verb “domesticated”)

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