homophony.

1. The relationship in which distinct words or forms have the same pronunciation, despite differing in meaning.

2. A musical texture in which voices or instruments move together rhythmically as chords.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• lexical homophony
• accidental homophony
• homophony between words

On the page

The homophony of flour and flower makes the joke work aloud.

The experiment controlled for homophony when testing word recognition.

Usage notes

Primary category: academic / formal / analytical. Lexical Type: Word. Forms: Usually uncountable; no ordinary plural in this sense. Commonness: uncommon (editorial estimate; not a corpus frequency statistic). Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1; numbered fields keep each relevant meaning separate. Research distinction: MW directly read: sameness of sound; musical unison; unresolved monody sense 4a cross-reference; explicit composition whose parts move in one rhythm in chordal style. Pronunciation and explicit chordal texture retained. Target monody page did not resolve referenced 4a; broader musical scope flagged, not invented. Individually useful in research, criticism, methodology or conceptual analysis. Definitions and examples are original; no mood or intensity assigned to neutral analytical concepts. Commonness is an editorial estimate, not a frequency statistic. Writing functions: spoken ambiguity independent of spelling, rhythmic coordination in music.