Which to use
“repaint” and “retains” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #46,731
- “repaint” frequency rank
- #12,314
- “retains” frequency rank
- 59045
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | repaint | retains |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To paint anew or again, especially if recently painted. | third-person singular simple present indicative of retain |
Where the eye mixes repaint and retains
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: repaint vs retains
A purely visual mix-up. repaint (/ɹiːˈpeɪnt/) and retains (/ɹɪˈteɪnz/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59045, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
repaint is recorded at frequency rank #46,731, classified as averb, pronounced /ɹiːˈpeɪnt/. retains is at rank #12,314, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɹɪˈteɪnz/.
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 59045, this pair ranks #108,667 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of repaint vs retains
Shared letters: aeinrt. Private to "repaint": p. Private to "retains": s.
"repaint" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCC · "retains" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "repaint" and "retains" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary English text, does "repaint" or "retains" show up more?
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 "repaint" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "retains" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #108,667 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "repaint" and "retains" 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 #108,667 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.