repose

/ɹɪˈpəʊz/

//ɹɪˈpəʊz// verb

"repose" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“repose” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #39,529. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#39,529
frequency rank, English
3,094
“R” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
17
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To lay (someone, or part of their body) down to rest.

Corpus desk

Index EN-repose · repose · English

repose · rank #39,529 · 8 variants · 17 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #39,529
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 17 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,094
  • PHOTO-FINISH replaying

Nearest frequency peer: replaying (-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 “repose”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “repose” 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).

repose vs rose
67% similar
repose vs reps
67% similar
repose vs reuse
67% similar

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

Key facts for repose
PropertyValue
Headwordrepose
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ɹɪˈpəʊz/
Letters6
Frequency rank#39,529
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs17
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “repose”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).reposelands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “replaying” (#39,528), “reptilian” (#39,530), “restful” (#39,531). Among 3,094 “R” headwords, “repose” is #39,529. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around repose (IPA /ɹɪˈpəʊz/), averb. Corpus frequency is #39,529 among 3,094 “R” headwords. Wiktionary lists 14 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for repose, with forms such as "erpose", "reopse", and "repoes". 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 17 confusable-pair relationships, "rose", "reps", "reuse", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: The verb is derived from Middle English reposen (“to rest”), from Anglo-Norman reposer, reposir, and Middle French reposer, from Old French reposer, repauser (“to become calm; to be peaceful; to rest; to be immobile; to lie or be placed; to cease, stop; to … The correct English form is repose, spelled R-E-P-O-S-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To lay (someone, or part of their body) down to rest.
  2. 2
    To rest (oneself), especially by going to sleep.
  3. 3
    Followed by from or (obsolete) of: to cause (oneself) to take a rest from some activity; also, to allow (oneself) to recover from some activity.
  4. 4
    To give (someone) rest; to refresh (someone) by giving rest.
  5. 5
    To cause (oneself) to have faith in or rely on someone or something.
  6. 6
    To give (someone) accommodation for the night.
  7. 7
    To lean or recline, sit down, or lie down to rest; to rest.
  8. 8
    To lean or recline, sit down, or lie down to rest; to rest.
  9. 9
    Followed by on or upon: of a thing: to lie or be physically positioned on something, especially horizontally; to rest on or be supported by something.
  10. 10
    Followed by on or upon: of light, a look, etc.: to fall or rest (and often remain for a while) on something; to alight, to dwell.
  11. 11
    Followed by on or upon: to be based on; to depend or rely on.
  12. 12
    To cease activity to rest or recover; also, to have a period free from activity or disturbance.
  13. 13
    To have faith in; to confide, to trust.
  14. 14
    To lie still and unmoving.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The Sea-god Glaucus […] Repoſd his head vpon my faintfull knée: […]
  2. I could mock the ſultry Toil, / VVhen on my Charmer's Breaſt repos'd.

Etymology

The verb is derived from Middle English reposen (“to rest”), from Anglo-Norman reposer, reposir, and Middle French reposer, from Old French reposer, repauser (“to become calm; to be peaceful; to rest; to be immobile; to lie or be placed; to cease, stop; to neglect”) (modern French reposer), from Latin repausāre, the present active infinitive of repausō (“(Late Latin) to be at rest; to lie down, rest; to sleep; to calm, pacify; (Latin) to halt temporarily, pause”), from re- (prefix meaning ‘again; back, backwards’) + pausō (“to cease, halt; to pause”) (from pausa (“a halt, stop; a pause; an end”), from Ancient Greek παῦσῐς (paûsĭs, “ceasing, stopping”), from παύω (paúō, “to cease; to make to cease, stop; to bring to an end; to hinder”) (further etymology uncertain; possibly from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂w- (“few, little; smallness”)) + -σῐς (-sĭs, suffix forming abstract nouns or nouns of action, process, or result)). The noun is derived from Late Middle English repose, from Anglo-Norman repous, repos, and Middle French repos, repose, from Old French repos (“calm; rest; period or state of sleep; state of immobility; state of inaction”) (modern French repos), from reposer, repauser (verb) (see above). Noun etymology 1 sense 12.3 (“technique of including in a painting an area or areas which are dark, indistinct, or soft in tone”) is borrowed from French repos. Cognates Catalan reposar (verb), repòs (noun) Italian riposare (verb), riposo (noun) Old Occitan repausar, repauzar (verb), repaus (noun) Portuguese repousar (verb), repouso (noun) Spanish reposar (verb), reposo (noun)

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • erpose
  • reopse
  • repoes
  • reposse
  • reppose
  • repsoe
  • rpeose
  • rrepose

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of repose - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

erpose2reopse2repoes2reposse1reppose1repsoe2rpeose2rrepose1
Edit distance from "repose"

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 "repose"?
"repose" is spelled R-E-P-O-S-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ɹɪˈpəʊz/.
What does "repose" mean?
As a verb, "repose" means: To lay (someone, or part of their body) down to rest.
What words are commonly confused with "repose"?
"repose" is commonly confused with "rose", "reps", "reuse". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "repose"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "repose" is /ɹɪˈpəʊz/. 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 "repose"?
The verb is derived from Middle English reposen (“to rest”), from Anglo-Norman reposer, reposir, and Middle French reposer, from Old French reposer, repauser (“to become calm; to be peaceful; to rest; to be immobile; to lie or be placed; to cease,... 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 "repose", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list