English can be a confusing language when it comes to spelling. There is abundant pair of words that have the same pronunciation but are different in their meanings.
To add the confusion even further, some words are considered synonyms in some areas, whereas not in others. Two such words are flier and flyer.
Key Takeaways
- “Flier” primarily denotes a person who flies or pilots an aircraft.
- “Flyer” is a promotional or informational paper distributed for advertisement purposes.
- Both “flier” and “flyer” can be used interchangeably in some contexts, but their specific meanings should be considered for clarity.
Flier vs Flyer
The word “flier” is more commonly used in British English, the spelling “flier” is less common but still acceptable.. “flyer” is the preferred spelling in American English. Its use as a promotional tool, the word “flyer” can also refer to a person or thing that moves through the air, such as a bird or an aircraft.
The word flier is a homonym in English that carries multiple meanings. The word Flier is a proper noun defined as the person who flies an aircraft, aeroplane, helicopter, etc.
Since flier is a homonym, it is also defined as a piece of paper used for advertising, and therefore, flier is a synonym of the word flyer.
The word flyer originally had only a single meaning in the English language. The word flyer is an abstract noun defined as a piece of paper used for advertising.
In some sentences, the word flyer can be termed as a synonym for flier when the word flier is identified as an abstract noun itself.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of Comparison | Flier | Flyer |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | It is a flying person. | It is a piece of paper. |
| Meanings | It has multiple meanings. | It only has one meaning. |
| Language | It is common in American English. | It is common in British English. |
| Noun | It is a proper noun. | It is an abstract noun. |
| Synonym | It is always a synonym. | It is conditionally a synonym. |
What is Flier?
The word flier is a homonym in English that carries multiple meanings. The word flier is a noun defined as the person who flies an aircraft, aeroplane, helicopter, etc.
The word flier can represent anyone flying concerning land, including the pilot or the passenger.
Since flier is a homonym, it is also defined as a piece of paper used for advertising, and therefore, flier is a synonym of the word flyer. This paper is used for wide distribution to many people in public places.
The word Flier is more common than the word flyer in American English.
Considering the two sentences, “She is a frequent flier on the plane”, and “A simple flier with text won’t grab anybody’s attention”, it is evident that the word flier is defined as two different nouns in these two sentences.
It can be identified as a proper noun in the first sentence and an abstract noun in the second sentence. Since the word flyer only carries a single meaning, flier is always considered as its synonym and can be used as its replacement in all the sentences.
What is Flyer?
The word flyer originally had only a single meaning in the English language. The word flyer is an abstract noun defined as a piece of paper used for advertising.
This paper is used for wide distribution to many people in public places. In some sentences, the word flyer can be termed as a synonym for flier when the word flier is identified as an abstract noun itself.
The word flyer is more common than the word flier in British English. On considering the sentence, “She is a frequent flier on the plane”, the word flyer mustn’t be used as a replacement for flier.
It would make the sentence grammatically incorrect. This is because a flier is used as a proper noun in the sentence, but the word flyer is only an abstract noun.
On the other hand, when we consider the sentence, “A simple flier with text won’t grab anybody’s attention”, it can be modified with a noun replacement.
Since the word flier is used as an abstract noun in this sentence, it can be replaced with the word flyer, and the sentence would still be grammatically correct. Thus, the word flyer is only a conditional synonym of the word flier.
Main Differences Between Flier and Flyer
- The word flier is referred to a flying person or a piece of advertising paper, whereas a flyer is only a piece of advertising paper.
- The word flier is a homonym with multiple meanings, whereas the word flyer is not a homonym but only a single meaning.
- The word flier is more common in American English, whereas the word flyer is more common in British English.
- The word flier is a proper noun as it signifies a type of people, whereas The word flyer is an abstract noun as it signifies the name of the material.
- The word flier is always a synonym of flyer, whereas the word flyer is not necessarily a synonym of the word flier.
- https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=kjWZMyVa6jgC&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq=synonym&ots=frZa9Wzxpp&sig=QlANXVTbsBpNZilFzYCJIpmffio
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0022096583900280
Last Updated : 13 July, 2023
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Emma Smith holds an MA degree in English from Irvine Valley College. She has been a Journalist since 2002, writing articles on the English language, Sports, and Law. Read more about me on her bio page.
Very detailed explanation about both words, I appreciate it.
Quite helpful, good to know the specific contexts for ‘flier’ and ‘flyer’.
I agree, the article provides great examples to illustrate the differences.
The language analysis here is well conducted, great article.
The explanation clears many doubts I had regarding the use of these two words.
It is interesting to understand the differences between American and British English.
The fact that these words can be considered synonyms in some contexts adds more complexity to the English language.
This was a very informative read, now I know when to use each of these words.