Which to use
“retaliate” and “retaliated” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #25,552
- “retaliate” frequency rank
- #37,201
- “retaliated” frequency rank
- 62753
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | retaliate | retaliated |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To do something harmful or negative to get revenge for some harm; to fight back or respond in kind to an injury or affront. | simple past and past participle of retaliate |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set retaliate and retaliated apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. retaliate (/ɹɪˈtæl.i.eɪt/) and retaliated (/ɹɪˈtæl.i.eɪtɪd/) 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 extra letter(s) - “retaliate” sits inside “retaliated”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 62753, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
retaliate is recorded at frequency rank #25,552, classified as averb, pronounced /ɹɪˈtæl.i.eɪt/. retaliated is at rank #37,201, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɹɪˈtæl.i.eɪtɪd/.
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 62753, this pair ranks #86,696 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of retaliate vs retaliated
Shared letters: aeilrt. Private to "retaliate": -. Private to "retaliated": d.
"retaliate" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVVCV · "retaliated" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- retaliate ← ertaliate · reatliate · retailate · retalaite · retaliaet · retaliatte · retalitae · retalliate
- retaliated ← ertaliated · reatliated · retailated · retalaited · retaliaetd · retaliatde · retaliatedd · retaliatted
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "retaliate" and "retaliated" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "retaliate" or "retaliated"?
Remembering retaliate vs retaliated
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “retaliate” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable