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Thursday

A to Z Writing: Editing Enhances Excellence and Eliminates Errors


Has correct spelling become passé?

Internet and texting acronyms may have led to linguistic laziness. Maybe it all started with OK and ASAP. However it began, we seem to have slipped into a mire of misspellings.

What words are most commonly misspelled by writers?

Misspelled words may appear in published materials because they resemble real words.

Spell-check programs can be extremely useful, except that they do not catch homonyms. What are homonyms? Words that sound the same, but are spelled differently, are homonyms. Examples include “ascent” and “assent,” “bare” and “bear,” “bridal” and “bridle,” “hole” and “whole,” and “straight” and “strait.” Such words tend to trip writers up often.

Here’s a roster of 300 of the most commonly misspelled words.

Have any of these words proved to be your own proofreading nemesis?

  1. absence
  2. absurd
  3. accidentally
  4. accommodate
  5. accumulate
  6. achievement
  7. acknowledgement
  8. acquaintance
  9. absence
  10. accidentally
  11. acquire
  12. acquitted
  13. advice
  14. advise
  15. aerospace
  16. airplane
  17. alcohol
  18. alleged
  19. amateur
  20. among
  21. analysis
  22. analyze
  23. annual
  24. annulment
  25. apartment
  26. apparatus
  27. apparent
  28. appearance
  29. arctic
  30. arguing
  31. argument
  32. arithmetic
  33. ascend
  34. athletic
  35. attendance
  36. balance
  37. balloon
  38. bankruptcy
  39. barbaric
  40. barbecue
  41. battalion
  42. beginning
  43. belief
  44. believe
  45. beneficial
  46. benefited
  47. bicycle
  48. bookkeeper
  49. boundaries
  50. Britain
  51. Business
  52. Calendar
  53. Candidate
  54. Category
  55. cemetery
  56. census
  57. chaotic
  58. changeable
  59. changing
  60. choose
  61. chose
  62. coming
  63. commission
  64. commitment
  65. committee
  66. comparative
  67. compelled
  68. conceivable
  69. conferred
  70. conscience
  71. conscientious
  72. conscious
  73. consensus
  74. constitution
  75. control
  76. controversial
  77. controversy
  78. criticize
  79. deductible
  80. decaffeinated
  81. deferred
  82. definitely
  83. definition
  84. dependent
  85. describe
  86. description
  87. desperate
  88. dictionary
  89. dining
  90. disappearance
  91. disappoint
  92. disastrous
  93. discipline
  94. dissatisfied
  95. dormitory
  96. ecstasy
  97. effect
  98. eighth
  99. eligible
  100. eliminate
  101. embarrass
  102. eminent
  103. encouragement
  104. encouraging
  105. environment
  106. equipped
  107. especially
  108. exaggerate
  109. excellence
  110. exhilarate
  111. existence
  112. existent
  113. experience
  114. explanation
  115. extraordinary
  116. familiar
  117. fascinate
  118. February
  119. fiery
  120. focused
  121. foreign
  122. foreword
  123. forty
  124. forward
  125. fourth
  126. frantically
  127. gauge
  128. generally
  129. government
  130. grammar
  131. grandeur
  132. grievous
  133. handkerchief
  134. harass
  135. height
  136. heroes
  137. hindrance
  138. hoping
  139. humorous
  140. hygiene
  141. hypocrisy
  142. hypocrite
  143. immediately
  144. inadvertent
  145. incidentally
  146. incredible
  147. independence
  148. indispensable
  149. inevitable
  150. intellectual
  151. intelligence
  152. interesting
  153. irresistible
  154. jewelry
  155. judgment
  156. knowledge
  157. knowledgeable
  158. laboratory
  159. laid
  160. lasagna
  161. led
  162. liaison
  163. license
  164. lieutenant
  165. lightning
  166. loneliness
  167. lose
  168. losing
  169. maintenance
  170. maneuver
  171. manufacture
  172. marriage
  173. mathematics
  174. maybe
  175. medieval
  176. mere
  177. millionaire
  178. miniature
  179. miscellaneous
  180. mischievous
  181. mnemonic
  182. monastery
  183. mysterious
  184. necessary
  185. negotiable
  186. ninety
  187. noticeable
  188. occasionally
  189. occurred
  190. occurrence
  191. omitted
  192. opinion
  193. opportunity
  194. optimistic
  195. outrageous
  196. paid
  197. parallel
  198. paralysis
  199. paralyze
  200. parliamentary
  201. particular
  202. pastime
  203. performance
  204. permissible
  205. perseverance
  206. personal
  207. personnel
  208. perspiration
  209. physical
  210. picnicking
  211. playwright
  212. pneumonia
  213. possession
  214. possibility
  215. possible
  216. practically
  217. precede
  218. precedence
  219. preference
  220. preferred
  221. prejudice
  222. preparation
  223. prevalent
  224. principal
  225. principle
  226. privilege
  227. probably
  228. procedure
  229. proceed
  230. profession
  231. professor
  232. prominent
  233. pronunciation
  234. pursue
  235. quantity
  236. quarantine
  237. questionnaire
  238. quizzes
  239. recede
  240. receipt
  241. redemptive
  242. reference
  243. referring
  244. repetition
  245. reservoir
  246. restaurant
  247. restaurateur
  248. rhyme
  249. rhythm
  250. ridiculous
  251. sacrifice
  252. sacrilegious
  253. salary
  254. sandwich
  255. schedule
  256. seize
  257. sense
  258. separate
  259. separation
  260. sergeant
  261. severely
  262. shepherd
  263. shining
  264. similar
  265. sincerely
  266. sophomore
  267. specifically
  268. specimen
  269. statue
  270. studying
  271. succeed
  272. succession
  273. supercede
  274. surprise
  275. technique
  276. temperamental
  277. tendency
  278. tongue
  279. tragedy
  280. transferring
  281. tries
  282. truly
  283. tyranny
  284. ukulele
  285. unanimous
  286. unconscionable
  287. undoubtedly
  288. unnecessary
  289. until
  290. usually
  291. vacuum
  292. village
  293. villain
  294. weather
  295. weird
  296. whether
  297. willful
  298. withholding
  299. writing
  300. yacht

Why not bookmark this post for future reference?

While we’re at it, here are a few helpful articles on editing and proofreading, published by friends and writing colleagues.


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You are also invited to join this writer's fan page, as well as the Chicago Etiquette Examiner, Madison Holidays Examiner, Equestrian Examiner and Madison Equestrian Examiner on Facebook.

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