Which to use
“retard” is a noun and “retire” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #17,936
- “retard” frequency rank
- #6,613
- “retire” frequency rank
- 24549
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | retard | retire |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A retardation; a delay. | To stop working on a permanent basis, usually because of old age or illness. |
Where the eye mixes retard and retire
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: retard vs retire
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: retard is /ɹɪˈtɑː(ɹ)d/ while retire is /ɹəˈtaɪə(ɹ)/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24549, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
retard is recorded at frequency rank #17,936, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɹɪˈtɑː(ɹ)d/. retire is at rank #6,613, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɹəˈtaɪə(ɹ)/.
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 24549, this pair ranks #401,122 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of retard vs retire
Shared letters: ert. Private to "retard": ad. Private to "retire": i.
"retard" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC · "retire" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "retard" and "retire" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "retard" or "retire"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "retard" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "retire" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #401,122 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "retard" and "retire" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "retard vs retry". 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 #401,122 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.