Which to use
“retaining” is an adjective and “rethinking” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,951
- “retaining” frequency rank
- #24,887
- “rethinking” frequency rank
- 34838
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | retaining | rethinking |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Of or pertaining to something that retains something else, as with a retaining wall. | The act of thinking again or differently. |
Letter map: retaining vs rethinking
Shared letters muted; letters that set retaining and rethinking apart highlighted. Shared run: 8.
Grammar separator: retaining vs rethinking
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: retaining is anadjective and rethinkinganoun. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34838, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
retaining is recorded at frequency rank #9,951, classified as anadj, pronounced /ɹɪˈteɪnɪŋ/. rethinking is at rank #24,887, tagged as anoun.
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 34838, this pair ranks #317,222 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of retaining vs rethinking
Shared letters: eginrt. Private to "retaining": a. Private to "rethinking": hk.
"retaining" · 9 letters · shape CVCVVCVCC · "rethinking" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- retaining ← ertaining · reatining · retaiinng · retainign · retainingg · retaininng · retainnig · retainning
- rethinking ← erthinking · rehtinking · rethhinking · rethikning · rethinikng · rethinkign · rethinkingg · rethinkinng
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "retaining" for "rethinking" ever safe?
Frequency check: "retaining" vs "rethinking" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "retaining" and "rethinking".
- Full dictionary entry for "retaining" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "rethinking" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #317,222 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "retaining" and "rethinking" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "retaining vs retaking". 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 #317,222 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.