autorizadovsautorizarConfusable pair

Which to use

“autorizado” and “autorizar” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#7,256
“autorizado” frequency rank
#16,763
“autorizar” frequency rank
24019
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature autorizado autorizar
Definition Participio de autorizar. Dar a alguien autoridad o facultad para hacer algo.

Where the eye mixes autorizado and autorizar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. autorizado runs 10 letters (VVCVCVCVCV) against autorizar's 9 (VVCVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
autorizado
9 ch
autorizar

Visual trap between autorizado and autorizar

A purely visual mix-up. autorizado ([awt̪oɾiˈsað̞o]) and autorizar ([awt̪oɾiˈsaɾ]) 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 24019, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

autorizado is recorded at frequency rank #7,256, classified as averb, pronounced [awt̪oɾiˈsað̞o]. autorizar is at rank #16,763, tagged as averb, pronounced [awt̪oɾiˈsaɾ].

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 24019, this pair ranks #243,077 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of autorizado vs autorizar

Shared letters: aiortuz. Private to "autorizado": d. Private to "autorizar": -.

"autorizado" · 10 letters · shape VVCVCVCVCV  ·  "autorizar" · 9 letters · shape VVCVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • autorizado ← atuorizado · auotrizado · autoirzado · autoriazdo · autorizaddo · autorizaod · autorizdao · autorizzado
  • autorizar ← atuorizar · auotrizar · autoirzar · autoriazr · autorizarr · autorizra · autorizzar · autorrizar

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "autorizado" and "autorizar" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([awt̪oɾiˈsað̞o] versus [awt̪oɾiˈsaɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "autorizado" or "autorizar"?
"autorizado" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,256 in our Spanish list, against #16,763 for "autorizar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "autorizado" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "autorizar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #243,077 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "autorizado" and "autorizar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "autorizaba vs autorizar". 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 #243,077 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list