autorizavsautorizadaWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: autoriza is a verb, autorizada is a participle, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“autoriza” is a verb and “autorizada” is a participle - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#13,848
“autoriza” frequency rank
#10,103
“autorizada” frequency rank
23951
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature autoriza autorizada
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de autorizar. Forma del femenino de autorizado, participio de autorizar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set autoriza and autorizada apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
autoriza
10 ch
autorizada

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

autoriza and autorizada form a confusable pair in the Spanish index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “autoriza” sits inside “autorizada” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23951, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

autoriza is recorded at frequency rank #13,848, classified as averb, pronounced [awt̪oˈɾisa]. autorizada is at rank #10,103, tagged as aparticiple, pronounced [awt̪oɾiˈsað̞a].

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 23951, this pair ranks #243,409 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Frequency comparison

autoriza#13,848
autorizada#10,103

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "autoriza" and "autorizada" be used interchangeably?
No, "autoriza" and "autorizada" 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 autoriza vs autorizada

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “autoriza”; for a participle, it's “autorizada”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “autoriza” 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