reportedvsreporterWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: reported is a verb, reporter is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“reported” is a verb and “reporter” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#1,096
“reported” frequency rank
#3,976
“reporter” frequency rank
5072
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature reported reporter
Definition simple past and past participle of report Someone or something that reports.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set reported and reporter apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
reported
8 ch
reporter

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

reported and reporter form a confusable pair in the English index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by a single letter - d in “reported” becomes r in “reporter” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5072, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

reported is recorded at frequency rank #1,096, classified as averb, pronounced /ɹɪˈpɔɹtɪd/. reporter is at rank #3,976, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɹɪˈpɔː.tə/.

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 5072, this pair ranks #516,687 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

reported#1,096
reporter#3,976

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "reported" and "reporter" be used interchangeably?
No, "reported" and "reporter" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering reported vs reporter

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “reported”; for a noun, it's “reporter”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “reported” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list