vacilar vs validar, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#40,377
“vacilar” frequency rank: #28,413
“validar” frequency rank: 68790
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	vacilar	validar
Definition	balançar, cambalear, oscilar, tremer	tornar(-se) válido, legítimo, legal.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set vacilar and validar apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch

vacilar

7 ch

validar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. vacilar (/vɐ.si.ˈlaɾ/) and validar (/vɐ.li.ˈdaɾ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 68790, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vacilar is recorded at frequency rank #40,377, classified as averb, pronounced /vɐ.si.ˈlaɾ/. validar is at rank #28,413, tagged as averb, pronounced /vɐ.li.ˈdaɾ/.

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 68790, this pair ranks #4,161 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of vacilar vs validar

Shared letters: ailrv. Private to "vacilar": c. Private to "validar": d.

"vacilar" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "validar" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

vacilar ← avcilar · vaccilar · vacialr · vacilarr · vacillar · vacilra · vacliar · vaiclar
validar ← avlidar · vaildar · valdiar · valiadr · validarr · validdar · validra · vallidar

Frequency comparison

vacilar#40,377

validar#28,413

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "vacilar" and "validar" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (/vɐ.si.ˈlaɾ/ versus /vɐ.li.ˈdaɾ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "vacilar" or "validar"?

"validar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #28,413 in our Portuguese list, against #40,377 for "vacilar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering vacilar vs validar

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “vacilar” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable