Which to use
“reception” and “rejection” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,885
- “reception” frequency rank
- #8,339
- “rejection” frequency rank
- 13224
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | reception | rejection |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The act of receiving. | The act of rejecting. |
Where the eye mixes reception and rejection
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between reception and rejection
A purely visual mix-up. reception (/ɹɪˈsɛp.ʃn̩/) and rejection (/ɹɪˈd͡ʒɛk.ʃən/) 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 13224, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
reception is recorded at frequency rank #4,885, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɹɪˈsɛp.ʃn̩/. rejection is at rank #8,339, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɹɪˈd͡ʒɛk.ʃən/.
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 13224, this pair ranks #477,045 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of reception vs rejection
Shared letters: ceinort. Private to "reception": p. Private to "rejection": j.
"reception" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVVC · "rejection" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "reception" and "rejection" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "reception" or "rejection"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "reception" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "rejection" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #477,045 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "reception" and "rejection" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "rejection vs resection". 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 #477,045 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.