Which to use
“refinar” and “refutar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #48,086
- “refinar” frequency rank
- #31,945
- “refutar” frequency rank
- 80031
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | refinar | refutar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | levar ao estado fino, sem misturas ou puro; tirar impuridades; liberar de liga; separar de matéria estranha; purificar | combater com argumentos que provam o contrário |
Where the eye mixes refinar and refutar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses refinar with refutar
A purely visual mix-up. refinar (/Rɨ.fi.ˈnaɾ/) 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 share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 80031, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
refinar is recorded at frequency rank #48,086, classified as averb, pronounced /Rɨ.fi.ˈnaɾ/. 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 80031, this pair ranks #1,397 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of refinar vs refutar
Shared letters: aefr. Private to "refinar": in. Private to "refutar": tu.
"refinar" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "refutar" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "refinar" for "refutar" ever safe?
Frequency check: "refinar" vs "refutar" - which ranks higher?
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 "refinar" 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 #1,397 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "refinar" and "refutar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "recitar vs refinar". 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 #1,397 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.