Which to use
“rely” and “retry” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,405
- “rely” frequency rank
- #49,014
- “retry” frequency rank
- 53419
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | rely | retry |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To trust; to have confidence in; to depend. | To try or attempt again. |
Where the eye mixes rely and retry
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: rely vs retry
A purely visual mix-up. rely (/ɹɪˈlaɪ/) and retry (/riˈtɹaɪ/) 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 53419, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
rely is recorded at frequency rank #4,405, classified as averb, pronounced /ɹɪˈlaɪ/. retry is at rank #49,014, tagged as averb, pronounced /riˈtɹaɪ/.
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 53419, this pair ranks #149,161 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of rely vs retry
Shared letters: ery. Private to "rely": l. Private to "retry": t.
"rely" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "retry" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "rely" and "retry" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "rely" or "retry"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "rely" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "retry" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #149,161 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "rely" and "retry" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "reedy vs retry". 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 #149,161 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.