Style vs stile

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Grammarist

Style and stile are two words that are pronounced in the same way but are spelled differently and have different meanings, which makes them homophones. We will examine the difference between the definitions of style and stile, where these two words came from and some examples of their use in sentences.

Style is a the particular or distinctive way in which something is created or expressed. Style may refer to the way someone dresses, the way someone creates a piece of art or the way someone accomplishes a task. When someone is referred to as having style, it usually means that the person exhibits good taste and sophistication. Style may be used as a noun or a transitive verb, which is a verb that takes an object. Related words are styles, styled, styling, stylist. The word style is derived from the Latin word stilus, meaning a writing instrument or a mode of expression.

A stile is a section of steps going over a fence or wall, allowing people to cross but not livestock or other animals. Stile may also be used to mean a vertical piece in a door frame or window sash. The word stile is derived from the Old English word stigel, meaning a climbing device.

Examples

Cate Blanchett, 48, shows off VERY funky style in armour-inspired leather jacket as she joins fellow age-defying beauties Jennifer Connelly, 46, and Julianne Moore, 56, at Louis Vuitton PFW show (The Daily Mail)

England can play with as much style as Manchester City, insists Blues’ Three Lions defender John Stones (The Mirror)

When you try to repair something around the house or in your barn, how often do you think of the old woman trying to get her pig over the stile? (The Press Herald)