Which to use
“react” and “recast” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,538
- “react” frequency rank
- #31,310
- “recast” frequency rank
- 36848
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | react | recast |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To act in response. | To cast or throw again. |
Where the eye mixes react and recast
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. react runs 5 letters (CVVCC) against recast's 6 (CVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses react with recast
A purely visual mix-up. react (/ɹiːˈækt/) and recast (/ɹiːˈkɑːst/) 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 36848, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
react is recorded at frequency rank #5,538, classified as averb, pronounced /ɹiːˈækt/. recast is at rank #31,310, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɹiːˈkɑːst/.
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 36848, this pair ranks #299,607 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of react vs recast
Shared letters: acert. Private to "react": -. Private to "recast": s.
"react" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC · "recast" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "react" for "recast" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "react" or "recast" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "react" and "recast" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "react" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "recast" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #299,607 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "react" and "recast" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "react vs reams". 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 #299,607 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.