Which to use
“refuser” and “résumer” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,562
- “refuser” frequency rank
- #8,777
- “résumer” frequency rank
- 12339
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | refuser | résumer |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Rejeter une demande, ne pas accorder ce qui est demandé ; ne pas vouloir faire ce qui est exigé, prescrit, ordonné. | Resserrer et rendre en peu de paroles ce qu’il y a de plus important dans une discussion, dans un discours, dans un argument. |
Where the eye mixes refuser and résumer
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses refuser with résumer
A purely visual mix-up. refuser (\ʁə.fy.ze\) and résumer (\ʁe.zy.me\) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12339, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
refuser is recorded at frequency rank #3,562, classified as averb, pronounced \ʁə.fy.ze\. résumer is at rank #8,777, tagged as averb, pronounced \ʁe.zy.me\.
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 12339, this pair ranks #405,672 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of refuser vs résumer
Shared letters: ersu. Private to "refuser": f. Private to "résumer": mé.
"refuser" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "résumer" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- refuser ← erfuser · reffuser · refsuer · refuesr · refuserr · refusre · refusser · reufser
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "refuser" and "résumer" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "refuser" vs "résumer" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "refuser" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "résumer" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #405,672 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "refuser" and "résumer" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "refusées vs refuser". 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 #405,672 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.