repeatablevsrespectableConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#42,372
“repeatable” frequency rank
#11,100
“respectable” frequency rank
53472
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature repeatable respectable
Definition Able to be repeated. Deserving respect.

Where the eye mixes repeatable and respectable

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence.

10 ch
repeatable
11 ch
respectable

Visual trap between repeatable and respectable

A purely visual mix-up. repeatable (/ɹɪˈpiːtəbəl/) and respectable ([ɹɪˈspɛk.tə.bl̩]) 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 53472, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

repeatable is recorded at frequency rank #42,372, classified as anadj, pronounced /ɹɪˈpiːtəbəl/. respectable is at rank #11,100, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɹɪˈspɛk.tə.bl̩].

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 53472, this pair ranks #148,684 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of repeatable vs respectable

Shared letters: abelprt. Private to "repeatable": -. Private to "respectable": cs.

"repeatable" · 10 letters · shape CVCVVCVCCV  ·  "respectable" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • repeatableerpeatable · reepatable · repaetable · repeaatble · repeatabble · repeatabel · repeatablle · repeatalbe
  • respectableerspectable · repsectable · resepctable · respcetable · respecatble · respecctable · respectabble · respectabel

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "repeatable" for "respectable" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (/ɹɪˈpiːtəbəl/ versus [ɹɪˈspɛk.tə.bl̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "repeatable" vs "respectable" - which ranks higher?
"respectable" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,100 in our English list, against #42,372 for "repeatable". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "repeatable" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "respectable" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #148,684 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "repeatable" and "respectable" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "relatable vs repeatable". 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 #148,684 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list