arrasvsarrestWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“arras” and “arrest” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#49,764
“arras” frequency rank
#2,713
“arrest” frequency rank
52477
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature arras arrest
Definition A tapestry or wall hanging. A check; a stop; an act or instance of arresting something.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set arras and arrest apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
arras
6 ch
arrest

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. arras (/ˈæɹəs/) and arrest (/əˈɹɛst/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52477, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

arras is recorded at frequency rank #49,764, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈæɹəs/. arrest is at rank #2,713, tagged as anoun, pronounced /əˈɹɛst/.

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 52477, this pair ranks #156,675 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of arras vs arrest

Shared letters: ars. Private to "arras": -. Private to "arrest": et.

"arras" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC  ·  "arrest" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • arrasarars · aras · arrass · arrsa · raras
  • arrestarerst · arest · arresst · arrestt · arrets · arrset

Frequency comparison

arras#49,764
arrest#2,713

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "arras" and "arrest" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈæɹəs/ versus /əˈɹɛst/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "arras" or "arrest"?
"arrest" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,713 in our English list, against #49,764 for "arras". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering arras vs arrest

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “arras” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list