# receding vs reeling

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### receding
*adjective · frequency rank #30,193*
Going or moving back or further away from a previous position; gradually diminishing.

### reeling
*verb · IPA /ˈɹiːlɪŋ/ · frequency rank #25,898*
present participle and gerund of reel

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/receding-vs-reeling