English is a very inconsistent language in terms of English spelling. Various words in the English language have a different structure than it is pronounced (i.e. phonetic spellings). Apart from that, the people who are using English as a second language, have an influence of their native language over English. That is one of the reasons people have different accents. We follow phonetics while writing as well. And that is the reason why people tend to make mistakes with inconsistent words.
There are many words that are often misspelled. In this article, we will learn about 350 words that are commonly misspelled words in English.
Absence – Absense, Absentse, Abcense, Absance
Acceptable – Acceptible
Accidentally/Accidently – Accidentaly
Accommodate – Accomodate, Acommodate
Achieve – Acheive
Acknowledge – Acknowlege, Aknowledge
Acquaintance – Acquaintence, Aquaintance
Acquire – Aquire, Adquire
Acquit – Aquit
Acreage – Acrage, Acerage
Address – Adress
Adultery – Adultary
Advisable – Adviseable, Advizable
Affect – Effect
Aggression – Agression
Aggressive – Agressive
Allegiance – Allegaince, Allegience, Alegiance
Almost – Allmost
A lot – Alot (must be two words), Allot
Amateur – Amatuer, Amature
Annually – Anually, Annualy
Apparent – Apparant, Aparent, Apparrent, Aparrent
Arctic – Artic
Argument – Arguement
Atheist – Athiest, Athist
Awful – Awfull, Aweful
Because – Becuase
Beautiful – Beatiful
Becoming – Becomeing
Beginning – Begining
Believe – Beleive
Bellwether – Bellweather
Buoy – Bouy
Buoyant – Bouyant
Business – Buisness
Calendar – Calender
Camouflage – Camoflage, Camoflague
Capitol – Capital (both words exist, but are distinct)
Caribbean – Carribean
Category – Catagory
Caught – Cauhgt, Caugt
Cemetery – Cemetary, Cematery
Changeable – Changable
Chief – Cheif
Colleague – Collaegue, Collegue
Column – Colum
Coming – Comming
Committed – Commited, Comitted
Comparison – Comparsion
Concede – Conceed
Congratulate – Congradulate
Conscientious – Consciencious
Conscious – Concious, Consious
Consensus – Concensus
Controversy – Contraversy
Coolly – Cooly
Daiquiri – Dacquiri, Daquiri
Deceive – Decieve
Definite – Definate, Definit
Definitely – Definitly, Definately, Defiantly
Desperate – Desparate
Difference – Diffrence
Dilemma – Dilema
Disappoint – Dissapoint
Disastrous – Disasterous
Drunkenness – Drunkeness
Dumbbell – Dumbell
Embarrass – Embarass
Equipment – Equiptment (wrong in numerous webpages)
Exceed – Excede
Exhilarate – Exilerate
Existence – Existance
Experience – Experiance
Extreme – Extreem
Fascinating – Facinating
Fiery – Firey
Fluorescent – Flourescent
Foreign – Foriegn
Friend – Freind
Fulfil – Fullfil (American: fulfill)
Gauge – Guage
Grateful – Gratefull, Greatful
Great – Grate, Grat
Guarantee – Garantee, Garentee, Garanty
Guidance – Guidence
Harass – Harrass
Height – Heighth, Heigth
Hierarchy – Heirarchy
Hors d’oeuvres – Hors derves, ordeurves
Humorous – Humerous
Hygiene – Hygene, Hygine, Hiygeine, Higeine, Hygeine
Hypocrisy/Hypocrite – Hipocrit
Ignorance – Ignorence
Imitate – Immitate
Immediately – Imediately
Indict – Indite
Independent – Independant
Indispensable – Indispensible
Inoculate – Innoculate
Intelligence – Inteligence, Intelligance
Jewelry (UK: Jewellery) – Jewelery
Judgment – Judgement (issue in the U.S.)
Kernel – Kernal (distinct from homophone “colonel”)
Leisure – Liesure
Liaison – Liason
Library – Libary, Liberry
License – Lisence (US always ‘license’, UK noun ‘licence’)
Lightning – Lightening
Lose – Loose
Maintenance – Maintainance, Maintnance
Marshmallow – Marshmellow
Medieval – Medeval, Medevil, Mideval
Memento – Momento
Millennium – Millenium, Milennium
Miniature – Miniture
Minuscule – Miniscule
Mischievous – Mischievious, Mischevous, Mischevious (The spelling “mischievious” and the corresponding pronunciation are still considered non-standard despite being current and existing since at least the 16th century.)
Misspell – Mispell, Misspel
Necessary – Neccessary, Necessery
Niece – Neice
Neighbour – Nieghbor
Noticeable – Noticable
Occasion – Occassion
Occasionally – Occasionaly, Occassionally
Occurrence – Occurrance, Occurence
Occurred – Occured
Omission – Ommision, Omision
Original – Orignal
Outrageous – Outragous
Parliament – Parliment
Pastime – Passtime, Pasttime
Perceive – Percieve
Perseverance – Perseverence
Personnel – Personell, Personel
Plagiarize – Plagerize
Playwright – Playright, Playwrite
Possession – Posession, Possesion
Potatoes – Potatos
Precede – Preceed
Presence – Presance
Principle – Principal
Privilege – Privelege, Priviledge
Professor – Professer
Protester – Protestor
Promise – Promiss
Pronunciation – Pronounciation
Proof – Prufe
Prophecy (as noun) – prophesy (valid as verb)
Publicly – Publically
Quarantine – Quarentine
Queue – Que (from Bar-B-Que)
Questionnaire – Questionaire, Questionnair
Readable – Readible
Really – Realy
Receive – Recieve
Receipt – Reciept
Recommend – Recomend, Reccommend
Referred – Refered
Reference – Referance, Refrence
Relevant – Relevent, Revelant
Religious – Religous, Religius
Repetition – Repitition
Restaurant – Restarant, Restaraunt
Rhyme – Rime
Rhythm – Rythm, Rythem
Secretary – Secratary, Secretery
Seize – Sieze
Separate – Seperate
Sergeant – Sargent
Similar – Similer
Skilful – Skilfull (American: skillful)
Speech – Speach, Speeche (archaic)
Successful – Succesful, Successfull, Sucessful
Supersede – Supercede
Surprise – Suprise, Surprize
Than – Then
Their – There, They’re
Tomatoes – Tomatos
Tomorrow – Tommorow, Tommorrow
Twelfth – Twelth
Tyranny – Tyrany
Underrate – Underate
Until – Untill
Upholstery – Upholstry
Usable/Useable – Usible
Vacuum – Vaccuum, Vaccum, Vacume
Vehicle – Vehical
Vicious – Visious
Weather – Wether, Whether
Weird – Wierd
Welfare – Wellfare, Welfair
Whether – Wether
Wilful – Wilfull (American: willful)
Withhold – Withold
Writing – Writting, Writeing
Are there any other words that you often make spelling mistakes while writing? Mention in the comments below.