recitevsreviveWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#20,200
“recite” frequency rank
#11,596
“revive” frequency rank
31796
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature recite revive
Definition To repeat aloud (some passage, poem or other text previously memorized, or in front of one's eyes), often before an audience. To cause (a person or animal) to recover from a faint; to cause (a person or animal) to return to a state of consciousness.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
recite
6 ch
revive

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. recite (/ɹɪˈsaɪt/) and revive (/ɹɪˈvaɪv/) 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 31796, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

recite is recorded at frequency rank #20,200, classified as averb, pronounced /ɹɪˈsaɪt/. revive is at rank #11,596, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɹɪˈvaɪv/.

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 31796, this pair ranks #343,131 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of recite vs revive

Shared letters: eir. Private to "recite": ct. Private to "revive": v.

"recite" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "revive" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • reciteercite · rceite · reccite · reciet · recitte · rectie · reicte · rrecite
  • reviveervive · reivve · reviev · revivve · revvie · revvive · rrevive · rveive

Frequency comparison

recite#20,200
revive#11,596

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "recite" and "revive" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ɹɪˈsaɪt/ versus /ɹɪˈvaɪv/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "recite" or "revive"?
"revive" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,596 in our English list, against #20,200 for "recite". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering recite vs revive

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 “recite” 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