precise and premise differ by a single letter, buried far enough into the word to be easy to miss. precise means “sharply exact or accurate or delimited”. premise means “set forth beforehand, often as an explanation”. precise is the more common of the two in everyday English.
/pɹɪˈsaɪs/
1.adj.sharply exact or accurate or delimited
“a precise mind”
2.adj.(of ideas, images, representations, expressions) characterized by perfect conformity to fact or truth; strictly correct
“a precise image”
/ˈpɹɛmɪs/
1.v.set forth beforehand, often as an explanation
“He premised these remarks so that his readers might understand”
2.v.furnish with a preface or introduction
“She always precedes her lectures with a joke”
3.v.take something as preexisting and given
| precise | premise | |
|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /pɹɪˈsaɪs/ | /ˈpɹɛmɪs/ |
| Said | pri-SAHYS | PREM-is |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| Letters | 7 | 7 |
| Parts of speech | adjective | verb, noun |
| Senses | 2 | 4 |
| How common | Common | Familiar |
| Synonyms | none recorded | none recorded |
Full entry for precise · Full entry for premise · More comparisons