Which to use
“realised” and “realize” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,290
- “realised” frequency rank
- #1,573
- “realize” frequency rank
- 7863
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | realised | realize |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of realise | To become aware of, understand, or appreciate (a fact or situation, especially something which has been true for some time). |
Where the eye mixes realised and realize
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. realised runs 8 letters (CVVCVCVC) against realize's 7 (CVVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between realised and realize
A purely visual mix-up. realised (/ˈɹi.ə.laɪzd/) and realize (/ˈɹɪə.laɪz/) 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 7863, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
realised is recorded at frequency rank #6,290, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈɹi.ə.laɪzd/. realize is at rank #1,573, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈɹɪə.laɪz/.
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 7863, this pair ranks #505,235 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of realised vs realize
Shared letters: aeilr. Private to "realised": ds. Private to "realize": z.
"realised" · 8 letters · shape CVVCVCVC · "realize" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "realised" and "realize" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "realised" vs "realize" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "realised" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "realize" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #505,235 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "realised" and "realize" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "readied vs realised". 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 #505,235 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.