Which to use
“reopen” and “repel” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,786
- “reopen” frequency rank
- #22,488
- “repel” frequency rank
- 39274
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | reopen | repel |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To open (something) again. | To turn (someone) away from a privilege, right, job, etc. |
Where the eye mixes reopen and repel
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses reopen with repel
A purely visual mix-up. reopen (/ɹiːˈəʊpən/) and repel (/ɹɪˈpɛl/) 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 39274, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
reopen is recorded at frequency rank #16,786, classified as averb, pronounced /ɹiːˈəʊpən/. repel is at rank #22,488, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɹɪˈpɛl/.
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 39274, this pair ranks #278,175 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of reopen vs repel
Shared letters: epr. Private to "reopen": no. Private to "repel": l.
"reopen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "repel" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "reopen" and "repel" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "reopen" or "repel"?
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 "reopen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "repel" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #278,175 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "reopen" and "repel" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Renée vs repel". 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 #278,175 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.