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 some others. Two such words are flier and flyer.
Flier vs Flyer
The difference between flier and flyer is that flier is a homonym by language that carries multiple meanings whereas flyer refers to as a piece of paper, generally used for advertising purposes. Even though the difference is very slight, it can be very confusing when the words are practically implemented in sentences.
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The word flier is a homonym in the English language that carries multiple meanings. The word Flier is a proper noun that is defined as the person who flies an aircraft, airplane, and 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 has only a single meaning in the English language. The word flyer is an abstract noun that is defined as a piece of paper generally 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 the English language that carries multiple meanings. The word flier is a proper noun that is defined as the person who flies an aircraft, airplane, and helicopter, etc.
The word flier can represent anyone who is 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 piece of paper is generally used for wide distribution to a large number of people in public places.
The word Flier is more common than the word flyer in American English.
On 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 has only a single meaning in the English language. The word flyer is an abstract noun that is defined as a piece of paper used for advertising.
This piece of paper is generally used for wide distribution to a large number of 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”, it is necessary that the word flyer should not be used as a replacement for flier.
It would make the sentence grammatically incorrect. This is because 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 replacement of noun.
Since in this sentence, the word flier is used as an abstract noun, 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 as a flying person or a piece of advertising paper whereas a flyer is only referred to as a piece of advertising paper.
- The word flier is a homonym and carries multiple meanings whereas the word flyer is not a homonym and carries 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
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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.
