resolvedvsrevolveTell them apart

Which to use

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

#6,092
“resolved” frequency rank
#21,342
“revolve” frequency rank
27434
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature resolved revolve
Definition simple past and past participle of resolve To bring back into a particular place or condition; to restore.

Where the eye mixes resolved and revolve

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

8 ch
resolved
7 ch
revolve

Visual trap between resolved and revolve

A purely visual mix-up. resolved (/ɹɪˈzɑlvd/) and revolve (/ɹɪˈvɒlv/) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27434, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

resolved is recorded at frequency rank #6,092, classified as averb, pronounced /ɹɪˈzɑlvd/. revolve is at rank #21,342, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɹɪˈvɒlv/.

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 27434, this pair ranks #378,932 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of resolved vs revolve

Shared letters: elorv. Private to "resolved": ds. Private to "revolve": -.

"resolved" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC  ·  "revolve" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • resolvedersolved · reoslved · resloved · resolevd · resollved · resolvde · resolvedd · resolvved
  • revolveervolve · reovlve · revlove · revolev · revollve · revolvve · revovle · revvolve

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "resolved" and "revolve" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (/ɹɪˈzɑlvd/ versus /ɹɪˈvɒlv/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "resolved" vs "revolve" - which ranks higher?
"resolved" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,092 in our English list, against #21,342 for "revolve". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "resolved" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "revolve" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #378,932 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "resolved" and "revolve" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "resold vs resolved". 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 #378,932 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