redress

/ɹɪˈdɹɛs/

//ɹɪˈdɹɛs// verb

"redress" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“redress” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #23,968. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#23,968
frequency rank, English
3,094
“R” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
5
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To put in order again; to set right; to revise.

Corpus desk

Index EN-redress · redress · English

redress · rank #23,968 · 9 variants · 5 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #23,968
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 5 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,094
  • PHOTO-FINISH regenerate

Nearest frequency peer: regenerate (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “redress”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “redress” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

redress vs refresh
71% similar
redress vs repress
86% similar
redress vs regress
86% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for redress
PropertyValue
Headwordredress
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ɹɪˈdɹɛs/
Letters7
Frequency rank#23,968
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs5
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “redress”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).redresslands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “regenerate” (#23,969), “raving” (#23,966), “reigned” (#23,970). Among 3,094 “R” headwords, “redress” is #23,968. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around redress (IPA /ɹɪˈdɹɛs/), averb. Corpus frequency is #23,968 among 3,094 “R” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for redress, with forms such as "erdress", "rderess", and "reddress". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 5 confusable-pair relationships, "refresh", "repress", "regress", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English redressen, from Anglo-Norman radresser, redrescer, redrescier and Middle French redresser (“to stand (someone or something) up; to stand up again; to rebuild, to repair something damaged, to rectify, to restore; to obtain redress; to cur… The correct English form is redress, spelled R-E-D-R-E-S-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    To put in order again; to set right; to revise.
  2. 2
    To set right (a wrong); to repair, (an injury or damage); to make amends for; to remedy; to relieve from.
  3. 3
    To make amends or compensation to; to relieve of anything unjust or oppressive; to bestow relief upon.
  4. 4
    To put upright again; to restore.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how redress appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Let us divide our labours; thou, where choice / Leads thee, or where most needs, whether to wind / The woodbine round this arbour, or direct / The clasping ivy where to climb; while I, / In yonder spring of roses intermixed / With myrtle, find what to redress till noon: […]
  2. Sir; When last in Philadelphia, you mentioned to me your wish that I should re-dress a certain paper, which you had prepared. As it is important, that a thing of this kind should be done with great care, and much at leisure, touched and retouched, I submit a wish, that, as soon as you have given it the body you mean it to have, it may be sent to me.

Etymology

From Middle English redressen, from Anglo-Norman radresser, redrescer, redrescier and Middle French redresser (“to stand (someone or something) up; to stand up again; to rebuild, to repair something damaged, to rectify, to restore; to obtain redress; to cure; (of hair) to stand on end; to revise a judgment”) (modern French redresser), from Old French redrecier (“to stand (someone or something) up; to stand up again”), from Old French re- (“again, once more”) (from Latin re-, from Proto-Italic *wre (“again”); further etymology uncertain) + Old French drechier, drecier, dresser (“to dress; to stand up”) (from Vulgar Latin *drēctiāre, a contracted form of *dīrēctiāre, from Latin dīrēctus (“straight”)). Compare Catalan redreçar, Spanish redreçar (obsolete), Italian redreçare, redrezare, redricciare, ridirizzare (all obsolete), ridrizzare, Late Latin redressare (“to repair; to set right”), Old Occitan redreisar, redresar.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • erdress
  • rderess
  • reddress
  • rederss
  • redres
  • redrress
  • redrses
  • rerdess
  • rredress

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of redress - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

erdress2rderess2reddress1rederss2redres1redrress1redrses2rerdess2
Edit distance from "redress"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "redress"?
"redress" is spelled R-E-D-R-E-S-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ɹɪˈdɹɛs/.
What does "redress" mean?
As a verb, "redress" means: To put in order again; to set right; to revise.
What words are commonly confused with "redress"?
"redress" is commonly confused with "refresh", "repress", "regress". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "redress"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "redress" is /ɹɪˈdɹɛs/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "redress"?
From Middle English redressen, from Anglo-Norman radresser, redrescer, redrescier and Middle French redresser (“to stand (someone or something) up; to stand up again; to rebuild, to repair something damaged, to rectify, to restore; to obtain redre... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "redress", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list