remitvsresistWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#25,901
“remit” frequency rank
#5,163
“resist” frequency rank
31064
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature remit resist
Definition To transmit or send (e.g. money in payment); to supply. To attempt to counter the actions or effects of.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set remit and resist apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
remit
6 ch
resist

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. remit (/ɹɪˈmɪt/) and resist (/ɹɪˈzɪst/) 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 31064, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

remit is recorded at frequency rank #25,901, classified as averb, pronounced /ɹɪˈmɪt/. resist is at rank #5,163, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɹɪˈzɪst/.

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 31064, this pair ranks #349,313 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of remit vs resist

Shared letters: eirt. Private to "remit": m. Private to "resist": s.

"remit" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "resist" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • remitermit · reimt · remitt · remmit · remti · rmeit · rremit
  • resistersist · reisst · resisst · resistt · resits · ressist · ressit · rresist

Frequency comparison

remit#25,901
resist#5,163

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "remit" and "resist" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ɹɪˈmɪt/ versus /ɹɪˈzɪst/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "remit" or "resist"?
"resist" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,163 in our English list, against #25,901 for "remit". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering remit vs resist

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 “remit” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list