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50 of the Most Commonly Misspelled Words in English

3 years ago

We all make spelling mistakes from time to time — in fact, “misspelled” is itself often misspelled as “mispelled.” It’s easy to get many words wrong, particularly homophones. These are words that sound the same but have different spellings. For example, “there,” “their,” and “they’re” are all pronounced the same way but have different meanings and are often confused.

Then there are words that are spelled differently in different places. For example, people in England wear colourful socks, whereas Americans might prefer colorful. In fact, the “u” has been dropped from many American English words, so that we savor favors and flavors. Americans sometimes even misspell the names of states, especially some with a complicated history behind the name.

You probably wouldn’t get New York wrong, but how about Connecticut or Massachusetts?

In the internet age, online dictionaries are just a click away and even if you’re pretty sure you know how to spell a word, you can double check in no time. Does accommodation have one “c” or two? One “m” or two? Does millennium have one “n” or two? And if you’re using a smartphone, autocorrect will do the job for you (although it doesn’t always correct to the right word). And then there are words that are so rarely used they’d send anybody but a spelling bee champion to a dictionary.



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Accommodate

Accommodate is often misspelled with one “c” and/or one “m.” We won’t accommodate either.



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Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Argument

This is often misspelled as arguement, but let’s not argue over that.



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Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Assassination

People sometimes take a shot at spelling assassination with only three “s’s” instead of four.



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Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Beautiful

According to Google, this was the most common “how to spell” search in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin in 2018.



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Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Bellwether

This word, meaning an indicator or predictor, has nothing to do with the weather, but is often misspelled with an “a.”



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Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Calendar

Calendar has two “a’s” and one “e,” not one “a” and two “e’s”



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Canceled

People in Maryland and Oklahoma aren’t sure how to spell canceled, according to Google Trends. And while one “l” is the preferred spelling in America, thanks to Noah Webster, two are still acceptable and more common in Britain.

ALSO READ: Most Famous Latin Artists



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Caribbean

Caribbean has one “r” and two “b’s” — make sure you get it right when you’re booking your vacation.



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Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Connecticut

This state is misspelled so often, a character in the Woody Allen movie “Small Time Crooks” said, “I’ve always wanted to learn how to spell Connecticut.”



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Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Cousin

It’s family first in Alabama. According to Google Trends, cousin was the most common “how to spell” search in the state in 2018. The confusion apparently stems from the silent “o.”



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Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Dilemma

This word creates a dilemma for some people, who spell it with an “n” instead of two “m’s”



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Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Dying

This one is a bit morbid. According to Google, dying was the most common “how to spell” search in Rhode Island (which is among the states with the highest premature death rate) in 2018.



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Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Ecstasy

You don’t have to agonize over ecstasy — there’s one “c” and two “s’s,” not the other way round, and certainly no “x.”



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Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Fiancé

A fiancé is a man who is engaged to be married, a fiancée is a woman who is engaged to be married. And both have an accent, reflecting their French origin.



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Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Forty

It’s a simple word, but it’s easy enough to see why people might get this one wrong — four has a “u” but forty doesn’t.



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Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Harass

Don’t let this word bother you — harass has one “r” and two “s’s.”



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Massachusetts

Even residents aren’t always sure how to spell Massachusetts correctly. In 2016 it was the most common “how to spell” search in the state itself, according to Google.

ALSO READ: Most Famous Latin Artists



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Millennium

People often leave out an “l” and/or an “n” from this word. Let’s hope Millennials get it right.



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Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Misspelled

Ironically, misspelled is often misspelled as mispelled.



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Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Nocturnal

This word looks simple enough that it shouldn’t keep you up at night. According to Google, however, nocturnal was the most common “how to spell” search in Nebraska in 2018.



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Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Occasion

Whatever the occasion, people aren’t sure if there’s one “c” or two, and one “s” or two.



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Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Permanent

According to Google, this was the most common “how to spell” search in Washington, D.C. in 2018. Perhaps that’s because there aren’t term limits for members of the Senate or the House of Representatives.



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Resume

This was the most common “how to spell” search in New York, New Jersey, and Colorado in 2018, according to Google. Google did not include an accent, so did Google/searchers mean the verb to begin again (resume) or curriculum vitae (resumé)? And an accent on one “e,” both “e’s,” or neither is acceptable.

ALSO READ: The Most Popular Names in America Since 1880



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Sincerely

Sincerely, this was the most common “how to spell” search in Connecticut in 2018, according to Google.



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Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious



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Tattoo

This word is often misspelled with just two “t’s.” What’s more, tattoos featuring spelling mistakes are a popular meme.



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Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Threshold

There’s only one “h” in the middle of threshold.



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Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Truly

Believe me — true has an “e” but truly doesn’t.



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Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Veteran

According to Google, this was the most common “how to spell” search in Alaska in 2018.



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Weird

It may seem weird, but people often spell this with the “i” before the “e.”



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52/52 SLIDES

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