Which to use
“repay” and “repel” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,953
- “repay” frequency rank
- #22,488
- “repel” frequency rank
- 34441
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | repay | repel |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Synonym of pay back in all senses. | To turn (someone) away from a privilege, right, job, etc. |
Where the eye mixes repay and repel
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between repay and repel
A purely visual mix-up. repay (/ɹiˈpeɪ/) 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 share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34441, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
repay is recorded at frequency rank #11,953, classified as averb, pronounced /ɹiˈpeɪ/. 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 34441, this pair ranks #320,747 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of repay vs repel
Shared letters: epr. Private to "repay": ay. Private to "repel": l.
"repay" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV · "repel" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "repay" and "repel" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "repay" vs "repel" - which ranks higher?
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 "repay" 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 #320,747 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "repay" 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 #320,747 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.