Free Rein vs. Free Reign

Ladies and gentlemen, let's move on to our next pair of confusing words. Are you ready? This time, we'll work on 'rein' vs. 'reign'.

"Free Rein" vs. "Free Reign" in English

What Is Their Main Difference?

They are only similar in that they have the same pronunciations. However, 'rein' refers to the straps that we use on a horse in order to control it, while, 'reign' indicates maintaining power over a particular community of people. It is mainly what kings and queens do.

Differences

'Rein' refrs to the straps we put on a horse to control it while horse riding, whereas, 'reign' is about maintaining power over a large community of people. Look at the examples below:

Never let go of the rein.

Who reigned over France after the revolution?

Similarities

They are oly similar in that they have similar pronunciations.

Are They Interchangeable?

Although they sound similar, they cannot be used interchangeably because 'rein' refers to the object we use to ride a horse, whereas, 'reign' is about maintaining authority over a large group of people. Compare:

✓ Queen Mary of Scotland has reigned over this nation for over 30 years.

X Queen Mary of Scotland has rein over this nation for over 30 years.

As you can see, this sentence does not make sense.

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