resultvsrésuméWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: result is a verb, résumé is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“result” is a verb and “résumé” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#681
“result” frequency rank
#35,924
“résumé” frequency rank
36605
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature result résumé
Definition To proceed, spring up or rise, as a consequence, from facts, arguments, premises, combination of circumstances, consultation, thought or endeavor. Alternative spelling of resume (“a summary, especially of employment history”).

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set result and résumé apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
result
6 ch
résumé

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: result is /ɹɪˈzʌlt/ while résumé is /ˈɹɛz.(j)ʊˌmeɪ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36605, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

result is recorded at frequency rank #681, classified as averb, pronounced /ɹɪˈzʌlt/. résumé is at rank #35,924, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈɹɛz.(j)ʊˌmeɪ/.

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 36605, this pair ranks #301,764 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of result vs résumé

Shared letters: rsu. Private to "result": elt. Private to "résumé": .

"result" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC  ·  "résumé" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • resultersult · reslut · ressult · resullt · resultt · resutl · reuslt · rresult

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "result" and "résumé" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "result" is a verb and "résumé" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "result" or "résumé"?
"result" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #681 in our English list, against #35,924 for "résumé". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list