Which to use
“refutar” and “restar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #31,945
- “refutar” frequency rank
- #29,128
- “restar” frequency rank
- 61073
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | refutar | restar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | combater com argumentos que provam o contrário | sobrar |
Where the eye mixes refutar and restar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses refutar with restar
A purely visual mix-up. refutar (/Rɨ.fu.ˈtaɾ/) and restar (/Rɨʃ.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 61073, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
refutar is recorded at frequency rank #31,945, classified as averb, pronounced /Rɨ.fu.ˈtaɾ/. restar is at rank #29,128, tagged as averb, pronounced /Rɨʃ.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 61073, this pair ranks #7,327 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of refutar vs restar
Shared letters: aert. Private to "refutar": fu. Private to "restar": s.
"refutar" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "restar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "refutar" for "restar" ever safe?
Which is more common, "refutar" or "restar"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "refutar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "restar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #7,327 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "refutar" and "restar" 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 #7,327 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.