Which to use
“restarted” is an adjective and “retorted” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #25,551
- “restarted” frequency rank
- #43,880
- “retorted” frequency rank
- 69431
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | restarted | retorted |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Euphemistic form of retarded. | simple past and past participle of retort |
Letter map: restarted vs retorted
Shared letters muted; letters that set restarted and retorted apart highlighted. Shared run: 7.
Grammar separator: restarted vs retorted
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: restarted is anadjective and retortedaverb. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 69431, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
restarted is recorded at frequency rank #25,551, classified as anadj. 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 69431, this pair ranks #54,588 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of restarted vs retorted
Shared letters: dert. Private to "restarted": as. Private to "retorted": o.
"restarted" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "retorted" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "restarted" for "retorted" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "restarted" or "retorted" show up more?
What to do next
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "restarted" and "retorted".
- Full dictionary entry for "restarted" 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 #54,588 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "restarted" 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 #54,588 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.