reculésvsrefusésWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“reculés” and “refusés” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#33,432
“reculés” frequency rank
#27,595
“refusés” frequency rank
61027
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature reculés refusés
Definition Masculin pluriel de reculé. Masculin pluriel de refusé.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set reculés and refusés apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
reculés
7 ch
refusés

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. reculés (\ʁə.ky.le\) and refusés (\ʁə.fy.ze\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61027, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

reculés is recorded at frequency rank #33,432, classified as anadj, pronounced \ʁə.ky.le\. refusés is at rank #27,595, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ʁə.fy.ze\.

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 61027, this pair ranks #94,470 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of reculés vs refusés

Shared letters: ersué. Private to "reculés": cl. Private to "refusés": f.

"reculés" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "refusés" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Frequency comparison

reculés#33,432
refusés#27,595

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "reculés" and "refusés" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ʁə.ky.le\ versus \ʁə.fy.ze\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "reculés" or "refusés"?
"refusés" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #27,595 in our French list, against #33,432 for "reculés". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering reculés vs refusés

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 “reculés” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list