Which to use
“relax” and “repay” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,403
- “relax” frequency rank
- #11,953
- “repay” frequency rank
- 16356
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | relax | repay |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To make something loose. | Synonym of pay back in all senses. |
Where the eye mixes relax and repay
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: relax vs repay
A purely visual mix-up. relax (/ɹɪˈlæks/) and repay (/ɹiˈpeɪ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16356, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
relax is recorded at frequency rank #4,403, classified as averb, pronounced /ɹɪˈlæks/. repay is at rank #11,953, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɹiˈpeɪ/.
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 16356, this pair ranks #458,267 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of relax vs repay
Shared letters: aer. Private to "relax": lx. Private to "repay": py.
"relax" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "repay" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "relax" and "repay" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "relax" or "repay"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "relax" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "repay" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #458,267 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "relax" and "repay" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "reedy vs repay". 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 #458,267 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.