reentryvsretryWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: reentry is a noun, retry is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“reentry” is a noun and “retry” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#35,909
“reentry” frequency rank
#49,014
“retry” frequency rank
84923
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature reentry retry
Definition Alternative form of re-entry. To try or attempt again.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set reentry and retry apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
reentry
5 ch
retry

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: reentry is anoun and retryaverb. On the page they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 84923, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

reentry is recorded at frequency rank #35,909, classified as anoun. retry is at rank #49,014, tagged as averb, pronounced /riˈtɹaɪ/.

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 84923, this pair ranks #11,251 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of reentry vs retry

Shared letters: erty. Private to "reentry": n. Private to "retry": -.

"reentry" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCCV  ·  "retry" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • reentryerentry · reenntry · reenrty · reentrry · reentryy · reenttry · reentyr · reetnry
  • retryertry · rerty · retrry · retryy · rettry · retyr · rretry · rtery

Frequency comparison

reentry#35,909
retry#49,014

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "reentry" and "retry" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "reentry" is a noun and "retry" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "reentry" or "retry"?
"reentry" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #35,909 in our English list, against #49,014 for "retry". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering reentry vs retry

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “reentry”; for a verb, it's “retry”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “reentry” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list