Which to use
“recursion” and “revulsion” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #44,443
- “recursion” frequency rank
- #41,351
- “revulsion” frequency rank
- 85794
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | recursion | revulsion |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The act of recurring. | Abhorrence, a sense of loathing, intense aversion, repugnance, repulsion, horror. |
Where the eye mixes recursion and revulsion
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses recursion with revulsion
A purely visual mix-up. recursion (/ɹɪˈkɜː(ɹ)ʒən/) and revulsion (/ɹɪˈvʌlʃən/) 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 85794, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
recursion is recorded at frequency rank #44,443, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɹɪˈkɜː(ɹ)ʒən/. revulsion is at rank #41,351, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɹɪˈvʌlʃən/.
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 85794, this pair ranks #9,851 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of recursion vs revulsion
Shared letters: einorsu. Private to "recursion": c. Private to "revulsion": lv.
"recursion" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVVC · "revulsion" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "recursion" and "revulsion" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "recursion" vs "revulsion" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "recursion" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "revulsion" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #9,851 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "recursion" and "revulsion" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "recursion vs reversion". 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 #9,851 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.