Which to use
“remorse” is a noun and “repose” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #15,258
- “remorse” frequency rank
- #39,529
- “repose” frequency rank
- 54787
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | remorse | repose |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A feeling of regret or sadness for doing wrong or sinning. | To lay (someone, or part of their body) down to rest. |
Where the eye mixes remorse and repose
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. remorse runs 7 letters (CVCVCCV) against repose's 6 (CVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between remorse and repose
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: remorse is /ɹɪˈmɔː(ɹ)s/ while repose is /ɹɪˈpəʊz/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54787, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
remorse is recorded at frequency rank #15,258, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɹɪˈmɔː(ɹ)s/. repose is at rank #39,529, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɹɪˈpəʊz/.
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 54787, this pair ranks #138,469 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of remorse vs repose
Shared letters: eors. Private to "remorse": m. Private to "repose": p.
"remorse" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV · "repose" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "remorse" and "repose" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "remorse" vs "repose" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "remorse" and "repose" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "remorse" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "repose" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #138,469 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "remorse" and "repose" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "repose vs repute". 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 #138,469 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.