Which to use
“reduced” and “refused” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,309
- “reduced” frequency rank
- #2,806
- “refused” frequency rank
- 5115
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | reduced | refused |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of reduce | simple past and past participle of refuse |
Where the eye mixes reduced and refused
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: reduced vs refused
A purely visual mix-up. reduced (/ɹɪˈdjuːst/) and refused (/ɹɪˈfjuːzd/) 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 5115, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
reduced is recorded at frequency rank #2,309, classified as averb, pronounced /ɹɪˈdjuːst/. refused is at rank #2,806, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɹɪˈfjuːzd/.
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 5115, this pair ranks #516,527 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of reduced vs refused
Shared letters: deru. Private to "reduced": c. Private to "refused": fs.
"reduced" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "refused" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "reduced" and "refused" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "reduced" vs "refused" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "reduced" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "refused" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #516,527 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "reduced" and "refused" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "refused vs roused". 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 #516,527 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.