Which to use
“reduce” is a verb and “redux” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,916
- “reduce” frequency rank
- #39,992
- “redux” frequency rank
- 41908
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | reduce | redux |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To bring down the size, quantity, quality, value or intensity of something; to diminish, to lower. | Of a topic, redone, restored, brought back, or revisited. |
Where the eye mixes reduce and redux
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses reduce with redux
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: reduce is /ɹɪˈd͡ʒuːs/ while redux is /ˈɹiːdʌks/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41908, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
reduce is recorded at frequency rank #1,916, classified as averb, pronounced /ɹɪˈd͡ʒuːs/. redux is at rank #39,992, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈɹiːdʌks/.
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 41908, this pair ranks #254,036 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of reduce vs redux
Shared letters: deru. Private to "reduce": c. Private to "redux": x.
"reduce" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "redux" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "reduce" and "redux" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary English text, does "reduce" or "redux" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "reduce" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "redux" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #254,036 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "reduce" and "redux" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "rebut vs redux". 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 #254,036 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.