Which to use
“refused” and “refute” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,806
- “refused” frequency rank
- #24,295
- “refute” frequency rank
- 27101
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | refused | refute |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of refuse | To prove (something) to be false or incorrect. |
Where the eye mixes refused and refute
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between refused and refute
A purely visual mix-up. refused (/ɹɪˈfjuːzd/) and refute (/ɹɪˈfjuːt/) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27101, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
refused is recorded at frequency rank #2,806, classified as averb, pronounced /ɹɪˈfjuːzd/. refute is at rank #24,295, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɹɪˈfjuːt/.
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 27101, this pair ranks #381,593 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of refused vs refute
Shared letters: efru. Private to "refused": ds. Private to "refute": t.
"refused" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "refute" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "refused" and "refute" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "refused" or "refute"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "refused" and "refute" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "refused" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "refute" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #381,593 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "refused" and "refute" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "rebut vs refute". 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 #381,593 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.