Homophones Hurt Your Writing: Eminent, Imminent, Immanent

Welcome to this edition of Words For Thought, the blog on wordrefiner.com. Like many of the previous blogs we are looking at homophones. Words that sound the same but have different spellings and meanings. 
I understand how important it is to have an error free manuscript. With over 40 years of experience, I have found that homophones give almost every writer fits and difficulties. Because we sound words out in our mind, it is easy to write the wrong word.
Let’s not forget typographical errors also, a slip of the finger on the keyboard can create a different word that may not be caught by a spell-checker. There are many groups of words that vary by only one letter, such as vary and very, or must, mist and most.
The correctly spelled word in the wrong context will not be flagged by most spell-checkers. Word Refiner is dedicated to uprooting all of these hidden errors and providing your document free of spelling errors that you want and deserve.

Now, onto today’s episode!

Eminent is a very common word, it means outstanding or famous in most senses of the usage.  There is an extension in the realm of law and politics.  When a governmental body uses its status to take control over private property, this is called Eminent Domain.

Imminent is a word almost as common as Eminent.  Imminent means about to happen, likely to occur very soon.  One of the most frequent phrases we see is “Imminent danger”.

Immanent is a word we seldom see.  It is used by theologians and philosophers.  The theological meaning refers to an attribute of God, that He is present everywhere throughout the universe at the same time.  Philosophers use this term in their discussions to mean something is inherent.
Quantum mechanics has a similar attribute. Einstein described it as "spooky action at a distance." He was not a fan of quantum theory.

There they are, three words with identical sounds and a somewhat related history.  If you use the wrong word the reader might think they have hit an unseen pothole and lose the reading momentum you worked so hard to build.  Use every tool available to prevent that from happening, do not give your readers a reason to not finish your story. Use Word Refiner, beta readers, critique partners, proofreaders and editors to ensure that your work is error free and as smooth as possible.
Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed this issue of Homophones Hurt Your Writing on Words For Thought.  Follow me on twitter: @wordrefiner, for more alerts about hazardous homophones search for  #HomophonesHurtYourWriting or #TyposHurtYourWriting on twitter.
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Remember: Words Have Meaning and Spelling Makes a Difference. 
​Copyright © 2015 Mark L Schultz 

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