resolutionvsrevolutionWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#2,554
“resolution” frequency rank
#2,699
“revolution” frequency rank
5253
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature resolution revolution
Definition A firm decision or an official decision. A political upheaval in a government or state characterized by great change.

Where the eye mixes resolution and revolution

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

10 ch
resolution
10 ch
revolution

Why the eye confuses resolution with revolution

A purely visual mix-up. resolution (/ˌɹɛzəˈluːʃ(ə)n/) and revolution (/ˌɹɛv.əˈluː.ʃən/) 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 - s in “resolution” becomes v in “revolution”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5253, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

resolution is recorded at frequency rank #2,554, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˌɹɛzəˈluːʃ(ə)n/. revolution is at rank #2,699, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˌɹɛv.əˈluː.ʃən/.

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 5253, this pair ranks #516,023 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of resolution vs revolution

Shared letters: eilnortu. Private to "resolution": s. Private to "revolution": v.

"resolution" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCVCVVC  ·  "revolution" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCVCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • resolutionersolution · reoslution · resloution · resollution · resoltuion · resoluiton · resolusion · resolutino
  • revolutionervolution · reovlution · revloution · revollution · revoltuion · revoluiton · revolusion · revolutino

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "resolution" for "revolution" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (/ˌɹɛzəˈluːʃ(ə)n/ versus /ˌɹɛv.əˈluː.ʃən/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "resolution" vs "revolution" - which ranks higher?
"resolution" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,554 in our English list, against #2,699 for "revolution". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "resolution" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "revolution" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #516,023 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "resolution" and "revolution" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "revocation vs revolution". 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 #516,023 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