Which to use
“repose” is a verb and “response” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #39,529
- “repose” frequency rank
- #1,000
- “response” frequency rank
- 40529
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | repose | response |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To lay (someone, or part of their body) down to rest. | An answer or reply, or something in the nature of an answer or reply. |
Where the eye mixes repose and response
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses repose with response
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: repose is /ɹɪˈpəʊz/ while response is /ɹɪˈspɒns/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40529, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
repose is recorded at frequency rank #39,529, classified as averb, pronounced /ɹɪˈpəʊz/. response is at rank #1,000, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɹɪˈspɒns/.
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 40529, this pair ranks #266,733 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of repose vs response
Shared letters: eoprs. Private to "repose": -. Private to "response": n.
"repose" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "response" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "repose" and "response" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary English text, does "repose" or "response" show up more?
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 "repose" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "response" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #266,733 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "repose" and "response" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "repose vs repute". 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 #266,733 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.