impecávelvsimplacávelWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“impecável” and “implacável” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#12,908
“impecável” frequency rank
#13,766
“implacável” frequency rank
26674
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature impecável implacável
Definition que é incapaz de pecar, de errar que não se pode aplacar

Where the eye mixes impecável and implacável

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

9 ch
impecável
10 ch
implacável

Visual trap between impecável and implacável

A purely visual mix-up. impecável (/ĩ.pɨ.ˈka.vɛɫ/) and implacável (/ĩ.plɐ.ˈka.vɛɫ/) 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 26674, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

impecável is recorded at frequency rank #12,908, classified as anadj, pronounced /ĩ.pɨ.ˈka.vɛɫ/. implacável is at rank #13,766, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ĩ.plɐ.ˈka.vɛɫ/.

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 26674, this pair ranks #42,432 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of impecável vs implacável

Shared letters: ceilmpvá. Private to "impecável": -. Private to "implacável": a.

"impecável" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCVCVC  ·  "implacável" · 10 letters · shape VCCCVCVCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "impecável" and "implacável" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ĩ.pɨ.ˈka.vɛɫ/ versus /ĩ.plɐ.ˈka.vɛɫ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "impecável" vs "implacável" - which ranks higher?
"impecável" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,908 in our Portuguese list, against #13,766 for "implacável". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "impecável" and "implacável" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "impecável" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "implacável" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #42,432 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "impecável" and "implacável" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "imparável vs implacável". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #42,432 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list