What's the difference between levity and levy?

Levity


Definition:

  • (n.) Lack of steadiness or constancy; disposition to change; fickleness; volatility.
  • (n.) The quality of weighing less than something else of equal bulk; relative lightness, especially as shown by rising through, or floating upon, a contiguous substance; buoyancy; -- opposed to gravity.
  • (n.) Lack of gravity and earnestness in deportment or character; trifling gayety; frivolity; sportiveness; vanity.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) Penetration will only occur once you have established a sense of levity, safety and trust between the both of you, plus a high level of non-penetrative eroticism.
  • (2) He’s similar in that sense to his icon Dizzee, who was always happy to balance his weightier stuff with moments of levity.
  • (3) Niemeyer’s buildings are characterised by their levity, playfulness, and curves, which are all antithetical to brutalism.
  • (4) Any such levity, however, is leavened by the tacit acknowledgment that existence is futile, and we are all just bags of flesh and bones whiling away the days before death and putrefaction sets in.
  • (5) There was more levity in a panel for the unlikely hit political drama Borgen about the intricacies of Danish coalition government, which brought together actors Sidse Babett Knudsen and Pilou Asbaek - who played prime minister Birgitte Nyborg and her spin doctor Kasper Juul.
  • (6) In Ferguson last summer, there wasn’t much levity in the days after Mike Brown was killed, either.
  • (7) In this spirit, Formation compels its viewers to acknowledge the beautiful complexity of history, culture and customs, with levity and passion.
  • (8) Perhaps he was a children's entertainer whom Ivan the Terrible enlisted in a rare moment of levity.
  • (9) They wanted someone associated with April who could inject a little humour and levity, not in a farcical way but in a real way.
  • (10) With One Love, Grande rose to the occasion with heart, strength and moments of out-of-body levity that can only come from a big pop show.
  • (11) H ow paranoid were you before you made this movie and how paranoid are you now?” That question was perhaps the only moment of levity during a conversation with documentarian Alex Gibney after the credits rolled on Zero Days, a terrifying account of the cyberwar that is already raging on thumb drives and mainframes from Washington to Tel Aviv to Isfahan Province in Iran and anywhere else that can connect to the internet.
  • (12) Klopp clearly enjoyed himself on the touchline in the closing stages and he brought a degree of levity into his post-match press conference, even offering up a suggestion for the top of journalists’ pieces.
  • (13) In a rare moment of levity during Hunt's testimony, the culture secretary was asked about an evening reception and dinner with James Murdoch where he was said to have hidden behind a tree to avoid being seen by the Wall Street Journal's Iain Martin.
  • (14) This was significant and, at the time, outrageous – in 1969, it must have seemed that seriousness had won out for good, with levity confined to novelty singles and bubblegum.
  • (15) The archaic levity tells you much about the debate, which, apart from the sponsor's opening remarks and contribution from another women in the chamber – the film-maker Baroness (Beeban) Kidron – did not even come close to articulating the change that has occurred since Tim Berners-Lee delivered his paper on a distributed hypertext system to his boss at CERN in March 1989.
  • (16) "I didn't want to have sex," says Geimer with brittle levity.
  • (17) There are moments of levity: when Bill Lincoln is giving evidence about his alibi (buying fish at Billingsgate market on Good Friday), it transpires that he is known by friends as “Billy the Fish”; James Creighton, the mate he meets when he has his regular Turkish bath, and who gives evidence on his behalf, is known as “Jimmy Two Baths”.
  • (18) They have even invented an alter ego band named The Reflektors, in which they perform wearing giant papier-mache heads of themselves, to add to the levity, and perhaps also to relieve the weight of what it means to be one of the world's biggest bands.
  • (19) He has been chairing the weekly political debates since 1994, often injecting the proceedings with some much-needed levity, and has become synonymous with the programme, ignoring constant speculation about when he might retire, and who might replace him.
  • (20) I said I liked it for its conceptual cheekiness – there can be no politics without quixotic energy and levity.

Levy


Definition:

  • (n.) A name formerly given in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia to the Spanish real of one eighth of a dollar (or 12/ cents), valued at eleven pence when the dollar was rated at 7s. 6d.
  • (n.) The act of levying or collecting by authority; as, the levy of troops, taxes, etc.
  • (n.) That which is levied, as an army, force, tribute, etc.
  • (n.) The taking or seizure of property on executions to satisfy judgments, or on warrants for the collection of taxes; a collecting by execution.
  • (v. t.) To raise, as a siege.
  • (v. t.) To raise; to collect; said of troops, to form into an army by enrollment, conscription, etc.
  • (v. t.) To raise or collect by assessment; to exact by authority; as, to levy taxes, toll, tribute, or contributions.
  • (v. t.) To gather or exact; as, to levy money.
  • (v. t.) To erect, build, or set up; to make or construct; to raise or cast up; as, to levy a mill, dike, ditch, a nuisance, etc.
  • (v. t.) To take or seize on execution; to collect by execution.
  • (v. i.) To seize property, real or personal, or subject it to the operation of an execution; to make a levy; as, to levy on property; the usual mode of levying, in England, is by seizing the goods.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) The industry will pay a levy of £180m a year, or the equivalent of £10.50 a year on all household insurance policies.
  • (2) With grievous amazement, never self-pitying but sometimes bordering on a sort of numbed wonderment, Levi records the day-to-day personal and social history of the camp, noting not only the fine gradations of his own descent, but the capacity of some prisoners to cut a deal and strike a bargain, while others, destined by their age or character for the gas ovens, follow "the slope down to the bottom, like streams that run down to the sea".
  • (3) The levy would also confirm the dramatically changing nature of Pakistan's ties with its western partners, from a strategic alliance to a transactional relationship, with deep suspicions on both sides.
  • (4) Only appropriations bills and the deficit levy on high income earners are certain to pass.
  • (5) The chancellor has stated that such levies will also be introduced in France and Germany.
  • (6) The sanctions that could be levied in the aftermath of the Geneva meeting were expected to focus on Putin's close associates, including oligarchs who control much of Russia's wealth, as well as businesses and other entities they control.
  • (7) The Treasury was adamant last night that this would not be the impact at an industry level and produced figures that showed, for instance, in 2014-15, the corporation tax costs being £0.4bn, compared with a bank levy yield of £2.4bn.
  • (8) He echoed what Paul Dillinger, head of global product innovation at Levi Strauss, said earlier in the day when he challenged designers to rethink their design processes.
  • (9) The £180m a year scheme is to be paid for by a £10.50 levy on all home insurance, from homeowners who are not at elevated risk of flooding as well as those who are.
  • (10) Asked if the government security agencies would be inspecting the site, Levy said: “Yes, of course.
  • (11) The sugar tax was greeted with hostility by the industry and Wright argues that the levy, introduced by the chancellor in the budget , will be undermined by flawed analysis of its impact.
  • (12) Daniel Levy, the chairman, was, according to sources, incandescent and there is the firm belief at Tottenham that Chelsea did not truly want Willian.
  • (13) Levies exist in many European countries and Canada, and Ofcom highlighted them as one of four main ideas in its PSB review earlier this year.
  • (14) The chancellor, while prepared to listen to the banking industry, is determined to push through regulatory changes, such as the new bank levy.
  • (15) Miliband says he does not want union levy payers disenfranchised from the Labour party elections, but is happy to look at how the relationship could be reformed.
  • (16) The soft drinks industry levy was confirmed in the Queen’s speech, with the formal consultation expected to start soon.
  • (17) I can’t think of any reason to justify a 1.5% levy on businesses for childcare purposes.” The Australian Industry Group also called for a clarification that the levy was not going to be redirected.
  • (18) The penalties levied on Barclays are part of an international investigation involving a number of banks – including RBS and Lloyds Banking Group – into interest rates known as the London interbank offered rate (Libor) and the Euro interbank offered rate (Euribor).
  • (19) This year the total bonus pool since the 2008 crash will break through the £80bn barrier – around three and a half times the amount banks have paid in Corporation tax and the bank levy (pdf) .
  • (20) He added: "The levy has been designed to encourage less risky funding and complements the wider agenda to improve regulatory standards and enhance financial stability.