Which to use
“refute” is a verb and “remote” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #24,295
- “refute” frequency rank
- #3,581
- “remote” frequency rank
- 27876
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | refute | remote |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To prove (something) to be false or incorrect. | At a distance; disconnected. |
Where the eye mixes refute and remote
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: refute vs remote
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: refute is /ɹɪˈfjuːt/ while remote is [ɹɪˈməʊt]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27876, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
refute is recorded at frequency rank #24,295, classified as averb, pronounced /ɹɪˈfjuːt/. remote is at rank #3,581, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɹɪˈməʊt].
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 27876, this pair ranks #375,408 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of refute vs remote
Shared letters: ert. Private to "refute": fu. Private to "remote": mo.
"refute" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "remote" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "refute" and "remote" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary English text, does "refute" or "remote" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "refute" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "remote" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #375,408 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "refute" and "remote" 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 #375,408 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.