Which to use
“reported” and “retorted” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,096
- “reported” frequency rank
- #43,880
- “retorted” frequency rank
- 44976
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | reported | retorted |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of report | simple past and past participle of retort |
Where the eye mixes reported and retorted
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between reported and retorted
A purely visual mix-up. reported (/ɹɪˈpɔɹtɪd/) and retorted (/ɹɪˈtɔɹtɪd/) 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 a single letter - p in “reported” becomes t in “retorted”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44976, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
reported is recorded at frequency rank #1,096, classified as averb, pronounced /ɹɪˈpɔɹtɪd/. retorted is at rank #43,880, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɹɪˈtɔɹtɪd/.
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 44976, this pair ranks #225,589 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of reported vs retorted
Shared letters: deort. Private to "reported": p. Private to "retorted": -.
"reported" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "retorted" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "reported" for "retorted" ever safe?
Frequency check: "reported" vs "retorted" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "reported" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "retorted" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #225,589 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "reported" and "retorted" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "retort vs retorted". 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 #225,589 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.