Similar Words

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Explanation

PerfectIt is customizable, and this check looks for words and phrases that are similar to terms specified by the user. Unlike other checks for spelling, it does not require you to specify the word to find. Instead, you can specify a word, phrase or sentence, and PerfectIt will find similar phrases within the document.

Example

If the active style sheet contains the preferred term ‘Montezuma’, PerfectIt will locate instances of ‘Moctezuma’, ‘Montesuma’ and any other similar spellings.

Approach

This check uses a modified version of the Levenshtein distance approach. It looks for phrases that have the same start and end letter as the preferred spelling, and then measures the distance between phrases using Levenshtein distance.

Customizing the Check

For instructions on how to state preferences for this check, see Working with PerfectIt Style Sheets: Always Find and Never Find.

Running the Check

PerfectIt only runs this check when there are preferred versions in the active style sheet and the setting for the check has been specified. If there are no preferred spellings or the check is set to ‘Off’, the check is skipped.