Revised as of
4 July 2023
This one was one of my screw-ups! Arghh, I hate when that happens. With all my reading, I had never come across this word until a Clive Cussler novel threw it in my path. It’s certainly made me more cautious in my belief that I know all!
It kind of reminds me of my difficulty in remembering that plasma cutting [in welding] is not the same thing as using a phaser! I don’t know why this is such an issue for me . . .
Turns out that faze is strictly a verb which upsets someone or something while phase is both noun and verb that takes gradual steps.
Word Confusions . . .
. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.
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| Faze | Phase |
|---|---|
Coward courtesy of OpenClipArt-Vectors under the CC0 Creative Commons license, via Pixabay. — I suspect this soldier is fazed out. |
Lunar Libration with Phase 2 by Tomruen, 16 September 2005 when it was published on Wikimedia Commons (the original upload was 7 September 2005 to English Wikipedia). It is in the public domain via Wikimedia Commons. |
| Part of Grammar: | |
| Verb, transitive
Third person present verb: fazes |
Noun; Verb, transitive
Plural for the noun: phases Third person present verb: phases |
| Often be fazed
Usually with negative [Informal] Disturb or disconcert someone |
Noun: A distinct period or stage in a process of change or forming part of something’s development
[Zoology] A genetic or seasonal variety of an animal’s coloration
[Chemistry] A distinct and homogeneous form of matter, i.e., a particular solid, liquid, or gas separated by its surface from other forms [Physics] The relationship in time between the successive states or cycles of an oscillating or repeating system (such as an alternating electric current or a light or sound wave) and either a fixed reference point or the states or cycles of another system with which it may or may not be in synchrony Verb, transitive:
[Physics] Adjust the phase of something, especially so as to synchronize it with something else |
| Examples: | |
| She was not fazed by his show of anger.
Nothing fazed that girl. The ghost story didn’t faze the children. The toddler is just going through a phase. |
Noun: The final phases of the war. Phase two of the development is in progress. You are not obsessed, but you are going through a phase. Verb transitive: We’ll perform a phased withdrawal of troops. Our armed forces policy was to be phased in over 10 years. |
| Derivatives: | |
| Noun: fazing | Adjective: phaseal, phaseless, phasic, unphased Noun: phaser, phaseout, subphase Verb, transitive: rephase, rephased, rephasing |
| History of the Word: | |
| A mid-19th century variant of dialect, feeze, meaning to drive or frighten off
From the Old English fēsian. |
Early 19th century, denoting each aspect of the moon from the French phase, based on Greek phasis meaning appearance, from the base of phainein meaning to show. |
C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!
Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.
Resources for Faze versus Phase
Apple Dictionary.com
Pinterest Photo Credits:
Lunar Eclipse by jensenartofficial is in the public domain, via Pixabay.
