pierce and pierre differ by a single letter, buried far enough into the word to be easy to miss. pierce means “cut or make a way through”. pierre means “capital of the state of South Dakota; located in central South Dakota on the Missouri river”.
/ˈpɪɹs/
1.v.cut or make a way through
“the knife cut through the flesh”
2.v.move or affect (a person's emotions or bodily feelings) deeply or sharply
“The cold pierced her bones”
3.v.sound sharply or shrilly
“The scream pierced the night”
/piˈɛɹ/
1.n.capital of the state of South Dakota; located in central South Dakota on the Missouri river
| pierce | pierre | |
|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /ˈpɪɹs/ | /piˈɛɹ/ |
| Said | pirs | pee-ER |
| Syllables | 1 | 2 |
| Letters | 6 | 6 |
| Parts of speech | verb, noun | noun |
| Senses | 6 | 1 |
| How common | Common | Common |
| Synonyms | none recorded | capital of South Dakota |
Full entry for pierce · Full entry for pierre · More comparisons