Which to use
“barred” is a verb and “based” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #10,988
- “barred” frequency rank
- #285
- “based” frequency rank
- 11273
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | barred | based |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of bar | Founded on; having a basis; often used in combining forms. |
Where the eye mixes barred and based
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: barred vs based
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: barred is /ˈbɑː(ɹ)d/ while based is /beɪst/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11273, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
barred is recorded at frequency rank #10,988, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈbɑː(ɹ)d/. based is at rank #285, tagged as anadj, pronounced /beɪst/.
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 11273, this pair ranks #487,934 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of barred vs based
Shared letters: abde. Private to "barred": r. Private to "based": s.
"barred" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "based" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "barred" for "based" ever safe?
Frequency check: "barred" vs "based" - which ranks higher?
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 "barred" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "based" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #487,934 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "barred" and "based" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "barred vs barreled". 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 #487,934 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.