reevevsrevueWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#32,556
“reeve” frequency rank
#26,575
“revue” frequency rank
59131
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature reeve revue
Definition Any of several local officials, with varying responsibilities. A form of theatrical entertainment in which recent events, popular fads, etc., are parodied.

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
reeve
5 ch
revue

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. reeve (/ɹiːv/) and revue (/ɹəˈvjuː/) 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 59131, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

reeve is recorded at frequency rank #32,556, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɹiːv/. revue is at rank #26,575, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɹəˈvjuː/.

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 59131, this pair ranks #108,115 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of reeve vs revue

Shared letters: erv. Private to "reeve": -. Private to "revue": u.

"reeve" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV  ·  "revue" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • reeveereve · reeev · reevve · reve · revee · rreeve
  • revueervue · reuve · reveu · revvue · rrevue · rveue

Frequency comparison

reeve#32,556
revue#26,575

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "reeve" and "revue" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ɹiːv/ versus /ɹəˈvjuː/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "reeve" or "revue"?
"revue" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #26,575 in our English list, against #32,556 for "reeve". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering reeve vs revue

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 “reeve” 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