homophene means any of a set of words that sound different, but look identical on a person's lips, so that they cannot be distinguished by lipreading. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 86 out of 100.
Why “homophene” is a great word
HOMOPHENE — [Noun] A word that, when spoken, produces lip patterns identical to another's, rendering them indistinguishable to a lipreader. From the combining form homo- (from Ancient Greek ὁμός (homós), meaning "same") + Ancient Greek φαίνω (phaínō, meaning "to show, to appear"). Unlike a homophone, which deceives the ear ('sea' and 'see'), or a homograph, which deceives the eye ('tear' and 'tear'), a homophene deceives the eye alone—a visual phantom born of shared articulation. It is the identical pursed explosion for "pat," "bat," and "mat"; the shared shape that obscures "mine" from "pine"; the indistinguishable, rounded "oo" of "mood," "food," and "booed." Here, the face becomes a cipher, and meaning retreats into the silent chambers of the throat.
noun
- Any of a set of words that sound different, but look identical on a person's lips, so that they cannot be distinguished by lipreading.