100 Commonly Misspelled Words
This is a list of hard to spell words, showing their correct spelling with spelling advice and common misspellings. These spellings are consistent for British and American English.
| correct spelling | notes | misspelling |
|---|---|---|
| absence | -s-, -nce | |
| accommodate, accommodation | -cc-, -mm- | |
| achieve | i before e | |
| across | one c | |
| aggressive | -gg- | |
| apparently | -ent- | |
| appearance | -ance | |
| argument | no e after u | |
| assassination | -ss-, -ss- | |
| basically | -ally | |
| beginning | -nn- | |
| believe | i before e | |
| business | busi- | |
| calendar | -ar | |
| Caribbean | -r-, -bb- | |
| category | e in middle | |
| cemetery | -ery | |
| colleague | -ea- | |
| coming | one m | |
| committee | -mm-, -tt-, -ee- | |
| completely | -ely | |
| conscience | -sc- | |
| conscious | -sc- | |
| copyright | -right | |
| curiosity | -os- | |
| definitely | -ite- not -ate- | |
| disappear | -s-, -pp- | |
| disappoint | -s-, -pp- | |
| ecstasy | -sy | |
| embarrass | -rr-, -ss | |
| environment | -nm- | |
| existence | -ence | |
| familiar | -iar | |
| finally | -ll- | |
| fluorescent | fluor- | |
| foreign | e before i | |
| forty | for- | |
| forward | for- | |
| friend | i before e | |
| further | fur- | |
| glamorous | -mor- | |
| government | -nm- | |
| grammar | -ar | |
| gauge | -au- | |
| grateful | grat- | |
| guard | gua- | |
| happened | -ened | |
| harass, harassment | -r-, -ss | |
| honorary | -nor- | |
| humorous | -mor- | |
| immediately | -ely | |
| incidentally | -ally | |
| independent | -ent | |
| interrupt | -rr- | |
| irresistible | -ible | |
| knowledge | -edge | |
| lightning | no e | |
| medicine | medi- like medical | |
| millennium, millennia | -ll-, -nn- | |
| misspell | -ss- | |
| necessary | -c-, -ss- | |
| noticeable | -e- | |
| occasion | -cc-, -s- | |
| occurred, occurring | -cc-, -rr- | |
| occurrence | -cc-, -rr-, -ence | |
| parallel | -r-, -ll- | |
| persistent | -ent | |
| Philippines | -l-, -pp- | |
| piece | i before e | |
| politician | -cian | |
| possession | -ss-, -ss- | |
| preferred, preferring | -rr- | |
| privilege | no d | |
| pronunciation | -nun- | |
| publicly | -cly | |
| really | -ll- | |
| receive | e before i | |
| referred, referring | -rr- | |
| religious | -gious | |
| remember | -mem- | |
| resistance | -ance | |
| sense | -se | |
| separate | -par- | |
| successful | -cc-, -ss- | |
| surprise | sur- | |
| tendency | -ency | |
| therefore | -fore | |
| threshold | one h in middle | |
| tomorrow | -m-, -rr- | |
| tongue | ton-, -gue | |
| truly | no e | |
| unforeseen | -re- | |
| unfortunately | -ely | |
| until | -l | |
| vicious | no s in middle | |
| weird | e before i | |
| wherever | one e in middle | |
| weather | -ea- | |
| whether | wh- | |
| which | wh- |
To test yourself, try these common misspellings quizzes.