Which to use
“regained” and “retained” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #15,256
- “regained” frequency rank
- #6,409
- “retained” frequency rank
- 21665
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | regained | retained |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of regain | simple past and past participle of retain |
Where the eye mixes regained and retained
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: regained vs retained
A purely visual mix-up. regained (/ɹiːˈɡeɪnd/) and retained (/ɹɪˈteɪnd/) 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 - g in “regained” becomes t in “retained”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21665, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
regained is recorded at frequency rank #15,256, classified as averb, pronounced /ɹiːˈɡeɪnd/. retained is at rank #6,409, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɹɪˈteɪnd/.
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 21665, this pair ranks #422,263 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of regained vs retained
Shared letters: adeinr. Private to "regained": g. Private to "retained": t.
"regained" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC · "retained" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "regained" and "retained" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "regained" or "retained"?
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 "regained" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "retained" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #422,263 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "regained" and "retained" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "regained vs rejoined". 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 #422,263 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.