2.13: Everyday Words that are Commonly Misspelled
- Page ID
- 90411
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)If you do find yourself over-relying on spell checkers or misspelling the same word for the 17th time this year, it would obviously be to your advantage to improve your spelling. One shortcut to doing this is to consult the following list of words that are frequently used and misspelled. Many smart writers even put a mark next to a word whenever they have to look it up, thereby helping themselves identify those fiendish words that give them the most trouble. To improve your spelling, you must commit the words you frequently misspell to memory, and physically looking them up until you do so is an effective path to spelling perfection.
| A | C | F | M | S |
| abandon | calendar | fallacy | magazine | saccharine |
| abandoned | camouflage | familiar | maintenance | sacrifice |
| abundant | candidate | family | manageable | safety |
| absence | career | fascinate | maneuver | satellite |
| academic | careful | fascism | manner | schedule |
| academically | category | favorite | manual | scientists |
| accelerator | ceiling | February | marriage | scintillate |
| accept | challenge | fiery | mathematics | separate |
| acceptable | channel | finally | meant | sergeant |
| accessible | chaos | financial | medicine | shepherd |
| accidentally | character | financially | medieval | shining |
| accommodate | characteristics | fission | mileage | shrubbery |
| accompanied | chief | fluorine | millennium | similar |
| accompanying | chiefly | foreign | miniature | sincerely |
| accomplish | choose | foresee | miscellaneous | sophomore |
| accumulate | chose | foreseeable | mischievous | souvenir |
| accuracy | chosen | forfeit | missile | specifically |
| accustomed | clothes | forty | misspelled | statistics |
| achievement | clothing | forward | mortgage | strenuous |
| acknowledge | coarse | fourth | muscle | stretch |
| acknowledgment | column | frantically | N | stubbornness |
| acquaintance | coming | friend | narrative | subtle |
| acquire | commercial | fulfill | naturally | subtly |
| acquit | commission | G | necessary | succeed |
| acre | commitment | generally | necessity | success |
| acreage | committee | genius | nineteen | succession |
| across | communism | government | ninety | succinct |
| actually | communists | grammar | ninth | sufficient |
| address | compel | grammatically | noticeable | summary |
| admission | compelled | grandeur | noticing | summation |
| admittance | competition | Great Britain | nuclear | summed |
| adolescent | completely | grievance | nuisance | supersede |
| adolescence | concede | guarantee | numerous | supposed |
| advantageous | conceivable | guerrilla | O | suppress |
| advertisement | condemn | guidance | occasion | surely |
| aerial | condemned | H | occasionally | surprise |
| against | conferred | handicapped | occur | surrounding |
| aggravate | confused | happily | occurred | syllable |
| aggressive | connoisseur | harass | occurring | symmetry |
| aisle | conscience | heard | occurrence | symmetrical |
| a lot (never alot) | conscientious | height | official | T |
| allotting | conscious | here | omission | tariff |
| almost | consists | hindrance | omit | technique |
| already | continuous | hoping | omitted | temperament |
| always | controlled | hopeless | oneself | temperature |
| amateur | controlling | humorous | operate | their |
| among | controversial | hundred | opinion | therefore |
| amount | convenient | hurriedly | opponent | thorough |
| analysis | coolly | hygiene | opportunity | though |
| analyze | criticism | hypocrisy | opposite | through |
| ancestry | crowded | hypocrite | oppression | tobacco |
| announcement | cruelty | I | ordinarily | tomorrow |
| annual | curiosity | ideally | originally | tragedy |
| apparatus | curriculum | ignorant | P | transferred |
| apparent | D | illogical | pamphlet | trespass |
| apparently | dealt | imagine | paraffin | truly |
| appearance | deceive | imitate | parallel | Tuesday |
| appreciate | decision | immediately | parliament | twelfth |
| appropriate | deferred | immense | particular | tyranny |
| appropriately | definite | impossible | particularly | U |
| approximate | definitely | incidentally | pastime | unanimous |
| approximately | definition | independent | peaceable | unconscious |
| arctic | descend | individually | peculiar | uncontrollable |
| arguing | description | ingenious | perceive | undoubtedly |
| argument | desirable | initially | permissible | unforeseen |
| article | desperate | initiative | perseverance | unmistakably |
| artistically | develop | innocent | persistence | unnatural |
| association | different | innocuous | pollute | unnecessary |
| athlete | dilemma | inoculate | pollution | until |
| athletic | disagree | intellectual | population | usable |
| attendance | disappear | intelligence | possess | useful |
| attitude | disappoint | intelligent | possession | usually |
| awful | disapprove | insistent | possible | V |
| awkward | disaster | interest | possibly | vacuum |
| B | disastrous | interfered | practically | valuable |
| balance | discern | interference | preference | various |
| bankruptcy | discipline | interrupt | preferred | vegetable |
| bargain | discussion | iridescent | prejudice | vehicle |
| basically | dispel | irrelevant | prejudiced | vengeance |
| battalion | disservice | irreplaceable | primitive | villain |
| beautiful | dissipate | J | privilege | violence |
| becoming | distinct | jewelry | probably | vicious |
| before | duly | judgment | proceed | visible |
| beginning | during | judicial | procedure | W |
| believe | E | K | profession | warring |
| beneficial | echoes | knowledge | professor | weather |
| benefited | efficiency | knowledgeable | publicly | Wednesday |
| biased | efficient | L | purpose | weird |
| biggest | eighth | laboratory | Q | where |
| boundary | eliminate | later | quantify | whether |
| Britain | ellipse | lenient | quantity | whistle |
| bulletin | embarrass | liable | quiet | wholly |
| bureaucratic | eminent | liaison | quite | whose |
| business | empty | library | R | writing |
| endeavor | lightning | realize | written | |
| enemy | likely | rebellion | ||
| enthusiastically | listening | recede | ||
| entirely | literature | receive | ||
| entrance | loneliness | recession | ||
| environment | loose | recommend | ||
| equipment | lose | reference | ||
| equipped | lying | referring | ||
| especially | remembrance | |||
| essential | reservoir | |||
| except | rhythm | |||
| excellent | ridiculous | |||
| excess | ||||
| existence | ||||
| experience | ||||
| explanation | ||||
| extremely |