Which to use
“regret” and “reset” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,838
- “regret” frequency rank
- #9,246
- “reset” frequency rank
- 13084
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | regret | reset |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To feel sorry about (a thing that has or has not happened), afterthink: to wish that a thing had not happened, that something else had happened instead. | To set back to the initial state. |
Where the eye mixes regret and reset
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: regret vs reset
A purely visual mix-up. regret (/ɹɪˈɡɹɛt/) and reset (/ɹiːˈsɛt/) 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 13084, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
regret is recorded at frequency rank #3,838, classified as averb, pronounced /ɹɪˈɡɹɛt/. reset is at rank #9,246, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɹiːˈsɛt/.
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 13084, this pair ranks #477,855 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of regret vs reset
Shared letters: ert. Private to "regret": g. Private to "reset": s.
"regret" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "reset" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "regret" for "reset" ever safe?
Frequency check: "regret" vs "reset" - which ranks higher?
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 "regret" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "reset" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #477,855 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "regret" and "reset" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Renée vs reset". 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 #477,855 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.