Which to use
“reflex” and “reflux” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,321
- “reflex” frequency rank
- #29,435
- “reflux” frequency rank
- 45756
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | reflex | reflux |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | An automatic response to a simple stimulus which does not require mental processing. | The backwards flow of any fluid. |
Where the eye mixes reflex and reflux
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: reflex vs reflux
A purely visual mix-up. reflex (/ˈɹiːflɛks/) and reflux (/ˈɹiː.flʌks/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by a single letter - e in “reflex” becomes u in “reflux”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45756, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
reflex is recorded at frequency rank #16,321, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈɹiːflɛks/. reflux is at rank #29,435, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈɹiː.flʌks/.
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 45756, this pair ranks #218,236 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of reflex vs reflux
Shared letters: eflrx. Private to "reflex": -. Private to "reflux": u.
"reflex" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "reflux" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "reflex" and "reflux" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary English text, does "reflex" or "reflux" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "reflex" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "reflux" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #218,236 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "reflex" and "reflux" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "redux vs reflux". 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 #218,236 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.