Which to use
“recede” and “receive” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #41,339
- “recede” frequency rank
- #1,496
- “receive” frequency rank
- 42835
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | recede | receive |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To move back; to retreat; to withdraw. | To be given, sent, or paid something. |
Where the eye mixes recede and receive
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. recede (/ɹɪˈsiːd/) and receive (/ɹɪˈsiːv/) 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 42835, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
recede is recorded at frequency rank #41,339, classified as averb, pronounced /ɹɪˈsiːd/. receive is at rank #1,496, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɹɪˈsiːv/.
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 42835, this pair ranks #245,658 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of recede vs receive
Shared letters: cer. Private to "recede": d. Private to "receive": iv.
"recede" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "receive" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCV