Which to use
“refutar” and “retar” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #25,427
- “refutar” frequency rank
- #37,304
- “retar” frequency rank
- 62731
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | refutar | retar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Contradecir o impugnar afirmaciones de alguien con razones y argumentos. | Dicho de un noble: acusar ante el rey a otro noble de alevosía, quedando obligado el primero a mantener la denuncia en buena lid. |
Where the eye mixes refutar and retar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. refutar runs 7 letters (CVCVCVC) against retar's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses refutar with retar
A purely visual mix-up. refutar ([refuˈt̪aɾ]) and retar ([reˈt̪aɾ]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 62731, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
refutar is recorded at frequency rank #25,427, classified as averb, pronounced [refuˈt̪aɾ]. retar is at rank #37,304, tagged as averb, pronounced [reˈt̪aɾ].
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 62731, this pair ranks #51,019 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of refutar vs retar
Shared letters: aert. Private to "refutar": fu. Private to "retar": -.
"refutar" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "retar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "refutar" and "retar" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "refutar" vs "retar" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "refutar" and "retar" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "refutar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "retar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #51,019 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "refutar" and "retar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "renard vs retar". 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 #51,019 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.