remainsvsremandWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“remains” and “remand” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#1,672
“remains” frequency rank
#32,561
“remand” frequency rank
34233
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature remains remand
Definition The body or any of its matter that are left after a person (or any organism) dies; a corpse. The act of sending an accused person back into custody whilst awaiting trial.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set remains and remand apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
remains
6 ch
remand

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. remains (/ɹɪˈmeɪnz/) and remand (/ɹɪˈmɑːnd/) 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 34233, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

remains is recorded at frequency rank #1,672, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɹɪˈmeɪnz/. remand is at rank #32,561, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɹɪˈmɑːnd/.

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 34233, this pair ranks #322,521 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of remains vs remand

Shared letters: aemnr. Private to "remains": is. Private to "remand": d.

"remains" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCC  ·  "remand" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • remainsermains · reamins · remainns · remainss · remaisn · remanis · remians · remmains
  • remandermand · reamnd · remadn · remandd · remannd · remmand · remnad · rmeand

Frequency comparison

remains#1,672
remand#32,561

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "remains" and "remand" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ɹɪˈmeɪnz/ versus /ɹɪˈmɑːnd/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "remains" or "remand"?
"remains" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,672 in our English list, against #32,561 for "remand". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering remains vs remand

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “remains” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list