Phase or Faze? One Is a Stage, the Other a Shock
A phase is a distinct stage in a process. Its homophone faze means to disturb, and mixing them is a common error.
A phase is a distinct stage in a process or cycle. *Faze*, meaning to disturb or unsettle, sounds identical and is a completely different word — *nothing fazed her* is right, *nothing phased her* is not. *Phase* is Greek, from *phasis*, an appearance, first used of the moon; *faze* is an English dialect word related to *feeze*, to frighten. In physics a phase is also a state of matter, and two waves are *in phase* when their peaks line up.
- A stage in a process. *The next phase.*
- A state of matter. *The liquid phase.*
- Moon phases. *A crescent phase.*
- Phase in / out — introduce or withdraw gradually. *Phase it out.*
- Faze — to disturb. *Nothing fazed him.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | phase | A new phase. |
| Plural | phases | Moon phases. |
| Verb | phase | Phase it in. |
| Adjective | phased | A phased plan. |
| Homophone | faze | It fazed her. |
- The project enters its final phase.Stage.
- Water has three common phases.Physics.
- Nothing fazed the referee.The other word.
Where phase turns up
- Astronomy — the changing lit portion of the moon
- Physics — solid, liquid, gas and plasma
- Waves — in phase or out of phase
- Project work — phase one, phase two
- Everyday — a passing phase in behaviour
Greek *phasis*, an appearance, from *phainein*, to show. It entered English in the 1700s for the moon's appearances.
Phase or faze?
Phase is a stage or to introduce gradually. Faze means to unsettle. Nothing fazed her, not phased.
Why are the moon's shapes called phases?
Because Greek phasis means an appearance, and the moon's changing appearance was the first thing the word described.