Which to use
“reprieve” is a verb and “reprise” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #33,822
- “reprieve” frequency rank
- #30,566
- “reprise” frequency rank
- 64388
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | reprieve | reprise |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To cancel or postpone the punishment of someone, especially an execution. | A recurrence or resumption of an action. |
Where the eye mixes reprieve and reprise
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. reprieve runs 8 letters (CVCCVVCV) against reprise's 7 (CVCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between reprieve and reprise
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: reprieve is /ɹɪˈpɹiːv/ while reprise is /ɹɪˈpɹiːz/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 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 64388, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
reprieve is recorded at frequency rank #33,822, classified as averb, pronounced /ɹɪˈpɹiːv/. reprise is at rank #30,566, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɹɪˈpɹiːz/.
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 64388, this pair ranks #77,994 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of reprieve vs reprise
Shared letters: eipr. Private to "reprieve": v. Private to "reprise": s.
"reprieve" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVVCV · "reprise" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "reprieve" for "reprise" ever safe?
Which is more common, "reprieve" or "reprise"?
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 "reprieve" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "reprise" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #77,994 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "reprieve" and "reprise" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "repose vs reprise". 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 #77,994 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.