repealvsrereadWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#8,718
“repeal” frequency rank
#29,064
“reread” frequency rank
37782
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature repeal reread
Definition To cancel, invalidate, annul. To read again.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
repeal
6 ch
reread

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. repeal (/ɹəˈpiːl/) and reread (/ɹiːˈɹiːd/) 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 37782, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

repeal is recorded at frequency rank #8,718, classified as averb, pronounced /ɹəˈpiːl/. reread is at rank #29,064, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɹiːˈɹiːd/.

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 37782, this pair ranks #291,547 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of repeal vs reread

Shared letters: aer. Private to "repeal": lp. Private to "reread": d.

"repeal" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC  ·  "reread" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • repealerpeal · reepal · repael · repeall · repela · reppeal · rpeeal · rrepeal
  • rereaderread · reerad · rereadd · rereda · rerread · rreead · rreread

Frequency comparison

repeal#8,718
reread#29,064

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "repeal" and "reread" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ɹəˈpiːl/ versus /ɹiːˈɹiːd/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "repeal" or "reread"?
"repeal" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,718 in our English list, against #29,064 for "reread". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering repeal vs reread

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 “repeal” 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