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 eye mixes arras and arrest
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. arras runs 5 letters (VCCVC) against arrest's 6 (VCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: arras vs arrest
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
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "arras" and "arrest" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary English text, does "arras" or "arrest" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "arras" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "arrest" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #156,675 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "arras" and "arrest" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Akram vs arras". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #156,675 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.