Raise vs. Raze: What's the Difference?
The words raise and raze carry entirely different meanings despite their phonetic similarity. Raise typically refers to lifting something to a higher position or increasing an amount or level. In contrast, raze means to completely destroy something, often a building or structure, reducing it to the ground.
How do you use the word raise in a sentence?
Raise is used when you are actively lifting or increasing something. It requires an object to complete its meaning, such as raising a flag, raising a question, or raising the temperature. The word indicates an action that is done to something else.
Examples of raise in a sentence
- She raised her hand to ask a question.
- The company decided to raise salaries for all employees.
- We need to raise awareness about the issue.
How do you use the word raze in a sentence?
Utilize raze when you want to talk about demolishing or utterly destroying something down to the ground level. It's primarily used in the context of buildings, forests, or any other structures that can be torn down or wiped out entirely.
Examples of raze in a sentence
- The fire was so intense that it completely razed the historic building to the ground.
- Plans were made to raze the old factory to make way for a new park.
- The agricultural company razed acres of forest to expand its farming land.
Raise and raze definition, parts of speech, and pronunciation
Raise definition:
Raise is a verb meaning to move to a higher position; to increase the amount, level, or strength of something; or to bring up a child or animal.
Raise parts of speech:
Raise pronunciation:
Raise is pronounced as /reɪz/.
Raze definition:
Raze is a verb meaning to completely destroy a building, town, or other site.
Raze parts of speech:
Raze pronunciation:
Raze is pronounced as /reɪz/, identically to raise.
Raise is a verb meaning to move to a higher position; to increase the amount, level, or strength of something; or to bring up a child or animal.
Raise parts of speech:
- Verb: They aim to raise awareness about environmental issues through social media campaigns.
- Transitive verb: The community project raised hopes for a better neighborhood.
Raise pronunciation:
Raise is pronounced as /reɪz/.
Raze definition:
Raze is a verb meaning to completely destroy a building, town, or other site.
Raze parts of speech:
- Verb: The developers razed the abandoned warehouse to construct a new apartment complex.
- Transitive verb: After the war, many cities were razed, requiring extensive reconstruction.
Raze pronunciation:
Raze is pronounced as /reɪz/, identically to raise.
Raise vs. Raze in a nutshell
To summarize, raise refers to lifting upward or increasing in amount, and it is a transformative action often seen in a positive light. Raze, on the other hand, means to completely destroy or demolish something, which is typically a structure. Both words are pronounced the same, /reɪz/, but their meanings and uses in sentences are complete opposites, highlighting their distinctive roles in the English language.
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