Which to use
“remains” is a noun and “repaint” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,672
- “remains” frequency rank
- #46,731
- “repaint” frequency rank
- 48403
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | remains | repaint |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The body or any of its matter that are left after a person (or any organism) dies; a corpse. | To paint anew or again, especially if recently painted. |
Where the eye mixes remains and repaint
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses remains with repaint
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: remains is /ɹɪˈmeɪnz/ while repaint is /ɹiːˈpeɪnt/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48403, 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/. repaint is at rank #46,731, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɹiːˈpeɪnt/.
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 48403, this pair ranks #193,389 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of remains vs repaint
Shared letters: aeinr. Private to "remains": ms. Private to "repaint": pt.
"remains" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCC · "repaint" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "remains" and "repaint" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "remains" or "repaint"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "remains" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "repaint" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #193,389 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "remains" and "repaint" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "repaid vs repaint". 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 #193,389 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.