réfutervsremuerWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#25,119
“réfuter” frequency rank
#17,251
“remuer” frequency rank
42370
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature réfuter remuer
Definition Combattre, détruire par des raisons convaincantes ce qu’un autre a avancé ; prouver que ce qu’un adversaire a dit est mal fondé ou n’est pas vrai. Mouvoir, déplacer.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set réfuter and remuer apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
réfuter
6 ch
remuer

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. réfuter (\ʁe.fy.te\) and remuer (\ʁə.mɥe\) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42370, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

réfuter is recorded at frequency rank #25,119, classified as averb, pronounced \ʁe.fy.te\. remuer is at rank #17,251, tagged as averb, pronounced \ʁə.mɥe\.

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 42370, this pair ranks #226,127 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of réfuter vs remuer

Shared letters: eru. Private to "réfuter": fté. Private to "remuer": m.

"réfuter" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "remuer" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • remuerermuer · remeur · remmuer · remuerr · remure · reumer · rmeuer · rremuer

Frequency comparison

réfuter#25,119
remuer#17,251

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "réfuter" and "remuer" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ʁe.fy.te\ versus \ʁə.mɥe\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "réfuter" or "remuer"?
"remuer" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,251 in our French list, against #25,119 for "réfuter". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering réfuter vs remuer

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 “réfuter” 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