recedevsrevereWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#41,339
“recede” frequency rank
#25,909
“revere” frequency rank
67248
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature recede revere
Definition To move back; to retreat; to withdraw. To regard someone or something with great awe or devotion.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
recede
6 ch
revere

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. recede (/ɹɪˈsiːd/) and revere (/ɹə.viːɹ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 67248, 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/. revere is at rank #25,909, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɹə.viːɹ/.

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 67248, this pair ranks #64,232 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of recede vs revere

Shared letters: er. Private to "recede": cd. Private to "revere": v.

"recede" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "revere" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • recedeercede · rceede · reccede · recdee · recedde · receed · reecde · rrecede
  • revereervere · reevre · reveer · reverre · revree · revvere · rrevere · rveere

Frequency comparison

recede#41,339
revere#25,909

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "recede" and "revere" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ɹɪˈsiːd/ versus /ɹə.viːɹ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "recede" or "revere"?
"revere" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #25,909 in our English list, against #41,339 for "recede". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering recede vs revere

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 “recede” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list