Which to use
“recuar” and “refutar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,530
- “recuar” frequency rank
- #31,945
- “refutar” frequency rank
- 43475
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | recuar | refutar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | andar ou mover-se para trás | combater com argumentos que provam o contrário |
Where the eye mixes recuar and refutar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: recuar vs refutar
A purely visual mix-up. recuar (/Rɨ.ˈkwaɾ/) and refutar (/Rɨ.fu.ˈtaɾ/) 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 43475, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
recuar is recorded at frequency rank #11,530, classified as averb, pronounced /Rɨ.ˈkwaɾ/. refutar is at rank #31,945, tagged as averb, pronounced /Rɨ.fu.ˈtaɾ/.
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 43475, this pair ranks #22,158 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of recuar vs refutar
Shared letters: aeru. Private to "recuar": c. Private to "refutar": ft.
"recuar" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC · "refutar" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "recuar" and "refutar" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "recuar" or "refutar" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "recuar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "refutar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #22,158 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "recuar" and "refutar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "refinar vs refutar". 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 #22,158 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.