Which to use
“repel” and “reply” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #22,488
- “repel” frequency rank
- #3,020
- “reply” frequency rank
- 25508
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | repel | reply |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To turn (someone) away from a privilege, right, job, etc. | To give a written or spoken response, especially to a question, request, accusation or criticism; to answer. |
Where the eye mixes repel and reply
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses repel with reply
A purely visual mix-up. repel (/ɹɪˈpɛl/) and reply (/ɹɪˈplaɪ/) 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 25508, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
repel is recorded at frequency rank #22,488, classified as averb, pronounced /ɹɪˈpɛl/. reply is at rank #3,020, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɹɪˈplaɪ/.
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 25508, this pair ranks #393,745 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of repel vs reply
Shared letters: elpr. Private to "repel": -. Private to "reply": y.
"repel" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "reply" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "repel" and "reply" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "repel" or "reply"?
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 "repel" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "reply" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #393,745 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "repel" and "reply" 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 #393,745 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.