Tip: misspelt (British), misspelled (American).
Language is dynamic and unique, that’s why we educate ourselves every day. There are some words we often misspell, not because they changed, but they are not just how we think they are. It doesn’t mean we are incompetent if we don’t get them all right—and who knows it all anyway—it’s just a reminder that learning never stops.
This is a list of common words we often misspell.
| Correct spelling | misspelling |
| accommodate | accomodate |
| achieve | acheive |
| acquaintance | acquintance |
| acquitted | acquited |
| advisable | adviseable |
| aggressive, aggression | agressive, agression |
| anoint, anointed, anointment | annoint, annointed, annointment |
| argument | arguement |
| assassinate, assassination | assasinate, assasination |
| auxiliary | auxilliary |
| bachelor | bachellor |
| balloon | baloon |
| battalion | battallion, batallion |
| benevolence | benivolence |
| billion, billionaire | bilion, bilionaire |
| bizarre | bizzare, bizzarre |
| broccoli | brocolli |
| business | bussiness |
| calendar | calender |
| camouflage | camoflage |
| carburetor(American), carburettor(British) | carburator, carburattor |
| Caribbean | Carribean, Carribbean |
| cartilage | cartillage |
| cemetery | cemetary |
| changeable | changable, changeble |
| chauffeur | chaufeur |
| cigarette | cigarrette |
| colleague | coleague |
| commission | commision |
| committee | commitee |
| conceive | concieve |
| conferred | confered |
| connoisseur | conoisseur, connoiseur |
| conscientious | conscientous |
| continuous | continious, continous |
| coolly | cooly |
| correlate | correllate, corellate |
| correspondence | corespondence |
| curiosity | curiousity |
| deceive | decieve |
| deferred | deffered |
| definitely | definately |
| definition | defination |
| desiccate, desiccated | dessicate, dessicated |
| deterred | dettered |
| deterrence | detterence |
| dilemma | dilema |
| dining (room, table, etc.) | dinning (making to learn by repetition) |
| dissatisfy | disatisfy |
| dissect, dissection | disect, disection |
| dissipate | disipate |
| drunkenness | drunkeness |
| ecstasy | ecstacy |
| embarrass | embarass |
| embezzle | embbezzle |
| emphasis | emphasy |
| entrepreneur | enterpreneur |
| envelop (surround or cover), envelope(paper container for letters) | envelop used as envelope and vice versa |
| Ernest(name), earnest(serious) | ernest used as earnest |
| equipped | equiped |
| exaggerate | exagerate |
| exceed | excede |
| exercise | excercise |
| explanation | explaination |
| facsimile | fasimile |
| fallacy, fallacious | falacy, falacious |
| fictitious | fictitous |
| fourth, forty | forth (out, away or forward), Forth (a river in Scotland), fourth |
| financier | financer |
| flabbergast, flabbergasted | flabergast, flabergasted |
| flourish | florish |
| fluorescent
(‘fluorescent light’ is the tube-shaped electric light) |
florescent
|
| foreseeable | forseeable |
| fundamental | fundermental |
| glamorous | glamourous |
| grateful | greatful |
| grievous | grieveous |
| guardian | guidean |
| guerrilla, guerilla | guirrella, guirella |
| guidance | guideance, guardance |
| harass | harrass |
| heroes | heros |
| hierarchy | hierachy, heirarchy |
| hindrance | hinderance |
| honorary | honourary |
| humorous | humourous |
| idiosyncrasy | idiosyncracy |
| ingenious(intelligent), ingenuous (honest) | ingenious used as ingenuous and vice versa |
| inoculate | innoculate |
| innocuous | inocuous |
| intercede | intersede |
| interrupt | interupt |
| irresistible | irresistable |
| its (possessive like ‘his’, ‘her’, ‘ their) | It’s |
| it’s (it is, it has) | its |
| jewelry (American), jewellery (British) | jewelery, jewellry |
| kindergarten | kindergaten, kindergateen |
| knickers | knicker |
| lamppost | lampost |
| later (in the future) | latter |
| latter (towards the end, second of two entities) | later |
| liaise, liaison | liase, liason |
| lollipop | lolipop, lollypop |
| lose(no longer have, fail to succeed) | loose |
| loose(not firm) | lose |
| ludicrous | ludicruous |
| maintenance | maintainance |
| manageable | managable |
| mathematics | mathematic, mathmatics |
| millennium, millennia | milennium, milennia |
| million, millionaire | milion, millionnaire |
| mischievous | mischevious |
| misery(unhappy feeling) | mystery (see below) |
| misogyny, misogynist | misoginy, misogynyst |
| misspell | mispell |
| misspelled | mispelled |
| murmur | murmor |
| mysterious | mysterous |
| mystery (strange thing) | misery |
| narrate | narate |
| necessary, necessity | necesary, necesity |
| newsstand | newstand |
| no one | noone |
| noticeable | noticable |
| occasion, occasionally | occassion, occassionally |
| occurred, occurring, occurrence | occured, occuring, occurence |
| omitted, omission | ommitted, ommission |
| oppress, oppression | opress, opression |
| oscillation | oscilation |
| overrun | overun |
| paid | Payed (only used in nautical sense: ropes and ship hulls) |
| parallel | paralel |
| pastime | pasttime |
| pavilion | pavillion |
| peninsula | penisula |
| perceive | percieve |
| permanent | parmanent |
| permissible | permisable |
| permitted | permited |
| Portuguese | Portugese |
| possession | possesion |
| precede | preceed |
| preferred | preffered |
| presumptuous | presumptous |
| privilege | priviledge |
| proceed | procede |
| professor, profession | proffesor, proffesion |
| pronunciation | pronounciation |
| psychiatrist | psychatrist |
| quizzes | quizes |
| quarrel, quarrelling, quarrelled | quarel, quarelling, quarelled |
| questionnaire | questionaire |
| rebellion | rebelion |
| recede | receed |
| receive | recieve |
| reference | refference |
| referring, referred | refering, refered |
| repertoire | repertoir |
| reservoir | reservoire |
| rhythmic, rhythmical | rhythimic, rhythimical |
| roommate | roomate |
| sacrilege | sacrilage |
| satellite | satelite |
| savvy | savy |
| secede | seceed |
| secretariat | secetariat |
| secretary | secretery |
| seize | sieze |
| separate, separation | seperate, seperation |
| septuagenarian | septuagenerian |
| sergeant | sergent |
| sheriff | sherrif |
| shining(reflecting light) | shinning |
| shinning(climbing quickly) | shining |
| simultaneous | simultanous |
| skiing | sking |
| souvenir | souvenire |
| stationary (not moving) | stationery |
| stationery(writing materials) | stationary |
| strenuous | strenous |
| stubbornness | stubborness |
| subordinate | surbodinate |
| subpoena | subpena |
| succeed | suceed |
| success, succession | sucess, succesion |
| superintendent | supritendent |
| supersede | supercede |
| suppress | supress |
| symmetrical | symetrical |
| tenement | tenament |
| their (possessive like ‘our’, ‘his’, etc.) | they’re |
| there (that place) | their, they’re |
| they’re (they are) | their |
| threshold | threshhold |
| tomorrow | tommorrow |
| tournament | tornament |
| transferring, transferred | transfering, transfered |
| tremendous | tremendious |
| unfortunately | infortunatly |
| unnecessary | unecessary |
| until | untill |
| vacuum | vaccum |
| vengeance | vengance |
| villain | vilain |
| warrior | warior |
| weather(state of the atmosphere) | whether (see below) |
| weird | wierd |
| wherever | whereever |
| whether (if, or not) | weather |
| withhold, withheld | withold, witheld |
| yacht | yatch |
| your (possessive like ‘out’, ‘their’, etc.) | you’re |
| you’re (you are) | your |
| zeitgeist | zeitgaist |
I misspelled mathematics with mathemetics and kindergarten with kindegarden or kindergarden.
I also misspelled villain as villian.