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“Waive” or “Wave”

waive / wave are similar-sounding terms with different meanings (referred to as homophones). To better understand the differences, see below for definitions, pronunciation guides, and example sentences using each term.

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Definitions

What each term means

Same sound, different spellings and meanings, shown with a pronunciation guide for each term.

waive w·EY·v

  • verbdo without or cease to hold or adhere to.

wave w·EY·v

  • nounone of a series of ridges that moves across the surface of a liquid (especially across a large body of water).
  • nouna movement like that of a sudden occurrence or increase in a specified phenomenon.
  • noun(physics) a movement up and down or back and forth.
  • nounsomething that rises rapidly.
  • nounthe act of signaling by a movement of the hand.
  • nouna hairdo that creates undulations in the hair.
  • nounan undulating curve.
  • nouna persistent and widespread unusual weather condition (especially of unusual temperatures).
  • nouna member of the women's reserve of the United States Navy; originally organized during World War II but now no longer a separate branch.
  • verbset waves in.
Usage

Examples in context

Real sentences for each spelling. Hover an example to copy it.

“waive”

  • …a full professor, but can waive this requirement and usually do…
  • …Virginia General Assembly to temporarily waive certain eligibility requirements in order…
  • …Investment Holdings Ltd agreed to waive their £17m debt only if…
  • …candidate Bradford Cohen agreed to waive his exemption, essentially agreeing to…
  • …loan shark who offers to waive the debt if she marries
  • …when the Bucks did not waive Bender by January 7, while…
  • …confirming that they would not waive their requirement.
  • …German officials, and chose to waive her right to contest her
  • …Health plans are permitted to waive consumer copayments, "to promote greater…

“wave”

  • …procedure of recomputing the electronic wave functions as a function of…
  • Influenced by the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, another…
  • …the amplitude of a radio wave to create sound, Armstrong's method…
  • …"(Love Is Like A) Heat Wave" and "Quicksand".
  • where ψ is the wave function of the electron involved…
  • …the savable from the opportunistic wave that will block and overwhelm…
  • …intense and/or prolonged cold weather wave of air
  • The total wave function is expanded in terms…
  • …vector containing the unknown nuclear wave functions , is a diagonal…
  • …conveys information over a carrier wave by varying its frequency.

Examples are Wikipedia snippets under the CC ShareAlike 3.0 license. Definitions are drawn from WordNet.

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