Most Often Misspelled Words


I have a bachelor’s degree in communications. I have my master’s in journalism. That said, I’ll be the first to tell you that I am a terrible speller. Loving to write and being able to spell don’t necessarilly necessarily go hand in hand. That’s why I constantly use spell check.

Many writers send me emails looking to contribute to one of the magazines I work for. When an email, cover letter, or resume come across my desk with misspelled words I get angry. These people want to publish articles and they can’t even take the time to make sure their query is spell checked? Please.

I’ve made a list for you that includes 10 of the most commonly misspelled words in the English language. There are a lot of tips for writers to keep in mind, but here’s another: remember that spell check is your friend.

Accommodate: I always forget about the second ‘m’.

Acknowledgment: I want to omit the ‘d’ and add in an ‘e’.

Consensus: I wish the first ‘s’ was a ‘c’.

Dependent: I always want to throw an ‘a’ in there somewhere.

Inadvertent: Again with the random ‘a’.

Indispensable: Is there a rule on how to keep the ‘e’s and ‘i’s and the ‘a’s apart?

Judgment: My brain wants to put an ‘e’ after the ‘g’.

Occurrence: I always forget the double ‘r’.

Perseverance: Again – the ‘e’ vs ‘a’ issue.

Separate: I don’t think I’ve spelled this word right on the first try in my life.

If you can remember what words hang you up over and over again, you can teach yourself what to look for. A little bell always goes off in my brain when I want to use these words and I look at them extra carefully. Heck, I even looked up the word spell check for this blog post! (You can also spell it spell-check if you prefer.)

With the ease of spell check on practically everything these days—from word processing software to Facebook—there’s no excuse not to use it…especially if you want to come across as a professional.

 


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Melanie Brooks has written for newspapers, magazines, blogs, and websites from Maine to New Jersey. She currently works as an editor for Bangor Metro and Maine Ahead magazines.

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