Which to use
“refuse” is an adjective and “rouse” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,718
- “refuse” frequency rank
- #25,559
- “rouse” frequency rank
- 29277
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | refuse | rouse |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Discarded, rejected. | An arousal. |
Where the eye mixes refuse and rouse
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between refuse and rouse
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: refuse is /ˈɹɛfjuːs/ while rouse is /ˈɹaʊz/. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29277, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
refuse is recorded at frequency rank #3,718, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈɹɛfjuːs/. rouse is at rank #25,559, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈɹaʊz/.
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 29277, this pair ranks #364,309 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of refuse vs rouse
Shared letters: ersu. Private to "refuse": f. Private to "rouse": o.
"refuse" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "rouse" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "refuse" for "rouse" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "refuse" or "rouse" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "refuse" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "rouse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #364,309 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "refuse" and "rouse" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "roque vs rouse". 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 #364,309 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.