Which to use
“réfuter” and “résumer” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #25,119
- “réfuter” frequency rank
- #8,777
- “résumer” frequency rank
- 33896
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | réfuter | résumer |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | 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 réfuter and résumer
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between réfuter and résumer
A purely visual mix-up. réfuter (\ʁe.fy.te\) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33896, 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\. 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 33896, this pair ranks #287,543 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of réfuter vs résumer
Shared letters: erué. Private to "réfuter": ft. Private to "résumer": ms.
"réfuter" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "résumer" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "réfuter" and "résumer" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "réfuter" or "résumer" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "réfuter" 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 #287,543 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "réfuter" and "résumer" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "réfuter vs relater". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #287,543 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.