Common Misspellings ReDo List → morethan.technology

This is a list of commonly misspelled words according to AskOxford.com. To use this list, you need someone to read out the words and check your spelling (ticking off the words you got correct). The notes contain tips for remembering the correct spelling.

• accessory (noun). Spell accessory with a double c and a double s; the ending is -ory. Rule: Change the -y to -ies to make the plurals of words which end in a consonant plus -y (as in berry/berries): accessories.
• accommodate (verb). Spell accommodate with a double c and a double m; remember that there is an o before and after the m’s. Related word: accommodation noun
• address (noun and verb). Spell address with a double d. Tip: please add your address.
• aggression (noun). Remember that aggression is spelled with a double g and a double s. Related words: aggressive adjective aggressor noun
• alcohol (noun). Spell alcohol with alco- at the beginning. Tip: drink a large cold orange juice, not alcohol.
• allege (verb). Remember that allege has a double l and is spelled with -ege at the end.
• amend (verb). Remember that amend and the related word amendment are spelled with a single m at the beginning.
• apologize or apologise (verb). Spell apologize and the related word apology with -olo- in the middle.
• apparent (adjective). There is a double p in apparent but only one r; the ending is -ent.
• argument (noun). There is no e after the u in argument, even though it comes from argue. It does not follow the usual rule that the final silent e is kept when adding endings that begin with a consonant.
• average (noun and verb). Spell average with an e after the v; the ending is -age.
• beautiful (adjective). Remember that beautiful and the related words beauty and beautify are spelled with beau- at the beginning. Tip: bare elegant arms are usually beautiful.
• belief (noun). Rule: Belief and the related word believe follow the rule i before e except after c (as in thief). Related word: believable adjective
• burglar (noun). Spell burglar with -lar at the end. Related word: burglary noun
• business (noun). Remember that business begins with busi-.
• cemetery (noun) plural cemeteries. Remember that cemetery ends with -ery.
• changeable (adjective). Rule: Keep the final silent -e when adding endings which begin with a vowel to words which end in -ce or -ge (here, change), if this is needed to preserve the soft sound of the first part of the word: changeable.
• committee (noun). Spell committee with a double m, a double t, and a double e at the end.
• consensus (noun). Remember that consensus and the related word consensual are spelled with -sen- in the middle.
• controversy (noun) plural controversies. Remember that controversy is spelled with -ro- in the middle. Tip: controversy arouses really opposing views. Related word: controversial adjective
• deceive (verb). Rule: i before e except after c (as in receive). Related word: deceit noun
• definite (adjective). Remember that definite ends with -ite. Related word: definitely adverb
• desperate (adjective). Spell desperate with -per- in the middle. Tip: perhaps he was desperate to escape.
• disappoint (verb). Remember that disappoint and the related word disappointment are spelled with one s and a double p.
• eighth (adjective). Remember that eighth is spelled with -hth at the end. Tip: Sam hoped that he wouldn’t finish eighth.
• embarrass (verb). Remember that embarrass and the related word embarrassment have a double r and a double s. Tip: embarrassed, she was rosy red with severe shame.
• extraordinary (adjective). Spell extraordinary with extra- at the beginning (it is made up of the words extra and ordinary).
• extreme (adjective and noun). Remember that the ending of extreme is spelled -eme.
• fascinate (verb). Remember that fascinate and the related word fascination are spelled with an s before the c.
• fluorescent (adjective). Remember that fluorescent and the related word fluorescence begin with fluor-.
• friend (noun). Spell friend with -ie- in the middle.
• fulfil (verb). Spell fulfil with one l in the middle and one at the end (the spelling fulfill is American). Rule: Double the l when adding endings which begin with a vowel to words which end in a vowel plus l (as in travel): fulfils, fulfilling. fulfilled. Related word: fulfilment noun
• gauge (noun and verb). Spell gauge with -au- in the middle (the spelling gage is American).
• grateful (adjective). Remember that grateful begins with grate-.
• guarantee (noun and verb). Rule: Although most verbs ending in -e drop the final e before adding -ing (e.g. bake, baking), verbs ending in -ee, -ye, and -oe keep the final -e: guarantees, guaranteeing, guaranteed.
• harass (verb). Spell harass and the related word harassment with a single r and a double s.
• hypocrisy (noun). Remember that hypocrisy begins with hypo-; the ending is -isy. Related words: hypocrite noun hypocritical adjective
• humorous (adjective). Rule: When adding certain endings, such as -ous and -ist, to words that end in -our (in this case, humour), change -our to -or before adding the ending: humorous; humorist.
• immediate (adjective). Spell immediate and the related word immediacy with a double m. Related word: immediately adverb
• independent (adjective and noun). Remember that independent always ends with -ent. Tip: she’s an independent agent. Related word: independence noun
• instalment (noun). Spell instalment with one l (the spelling installment is American). Rule: Drop the last l when adding suffixes (endings) which begin with a consonant to words which end in a double l (here, install): instalment.
• itinerary (noun) plural itineraries. Remember that itinerary ends with -erary.
• liaise (verb). Remember that liaise is spelled with two i’s, one before and one after the a. Tip: you must liaise with colleagues in Italy and Ireland. Related word: liaison noun
• licence (noun). Do not confuse licence with license. Licence is a noun which means ‘a permit to do something’ (a driving licence), whereas license is a verb meaning ‘give a permit to someone: allow something’ (the loggers are licensed to cut mahogany trees). In American English, both the noun and the verb are spelled license.
• lot (pronoun and noun). You should spell a lot as two words, not one (a lot can happen in a month).
• maintenance (noun). Remember that maintenance is spelled with -ten- in the middle; the ending is -ance.
• manoeuvre (noun and verb). Spell manoeuvre with -oeu- in the middle; the ending is -re (the spelling maneuver is American). Related word: manoeuvrable adjective
• millennium (noun). Spell millennium with a double l and a double n. The plural can be spelled either millennia (like the original Latin) or millenniums. Related word: millennial adjective
• miniature (noun and adjective). Remember that miniature begins with mini-. Tip: a miniature minibus.
• minuscule (adjective). Remember that minuscule is spelled with a u after the n.
• mischievous (adjective). Rule: i before e except after c (as in thief). Remember that mischievous ends with -vous.
• misspell (verb). Spell misspell with a double s. The different forms of this verb are: misspells, misspelling; the past tense is misspelt or misspelled.
• naive (adjective). Remember that naive is spelled with -ai- in the middle. It can also be spelled naïve, with two dots over the i, as in the original French. Tip: she was naive, with an appealing innocence. Related word: naivety noun
• necessary (adjective). Remember that necessary and the related word necessity are spelled with one c and a double s. Tip: it’s necessary for a jacket to have one collar and two sleeves. Related word: necessarily adverb
• negligible (adjective). Remember that the ending of negligible is spelled -ible. Related word: negligibly
• niece (noun). Rule: i before e except after c (as in thief).
• occasion (noun and verb). Spell occasion with a double c and a single s. Tip: a ceremony celebrating a special occasion.
• occur (verb). Rule: Double the last consonant when adding endings which begin with a vowel to words that end with a single vowel plus a consonant, if the stress is at the end of a word (as in refer): occurs, occurring, occurred. Related word: occurrence noun
• omission (noun). Spell omission with one m and a double s. Tip: the book has many serious and significant omissions. Related word: omissible adjective
• original (adjective and noun). Spell original with an i before and after the g.
• outrageous (adjective). Rule: Keep the final silent -e when adding endings which begin with a vowel to words which end in -ce or -ge (here, outrage), if this is needed to preserve the soft -ce or -ge sound: outrageous.
• parliament (noun). Spell parliament with -ia- before the m. Tip: I am a member of parliament.
• perceive (verb). Rule: i before e except after c (as in receive).
• possess (verb). Spell possess and the related words possession and possessive with a double s before and after the e. Related word: possessor noun
• potato (noun). The plural of potato is made by adding -es: potatoes.
• practice (noun). Do not confuse practice with practise. Practice is a noun meaning ‘the action of doing something rather than the theories about it’ (putting policy into practice), whereas practise is a verb meaning ‘do something repeatedly to improve your skill’ (they were practising for the Olympics). In American English, both the noun and the verb are spelled practice.
• presence (noun). Remember that presence ends with -ence. Related word: present adjective
• privilege (noun and verb). Remember that privilege ends with -ege.
• questionnaire (noun). Remember that questionnaire (a French word) is spelled with a double n and ends with -aire.
• really (adverb). Remember that really is spelled with a double l.
• receive (verb). Rule: i before e except after c.
• recommend (verb). Spell recommend and the related word recommendation with a single c and a double m. Tip: he recommended that I cut out milk and meat from my diet.
• restaurant (noun). Remember that restaurant is spelled with -au- between the t and r: it is a French word.
• restaurateur (noun). Although restaurateur (a French word) is related to restaurant, it is not spelled with an n before the second t.
• rhythm (noun). Remember that rhythm is spelled with rhy- at the beginning, then -thm. Tip: rhythm really has your two hips moving.
• secretary (noun) plural secretaries. Spell secretary with an e after the r; the ending is -ary.
• seize (verb). Remember that seize and the related word seizure are spelled with the e before the i: they do not follow the rule of i before e except after c.
• separate (verb and adjective). Remember that separate is spelled with -par- in the middle. Tip: the rock split into two separate parts. Related word: separation noun
• similar (adjective). Remember that the ending of similar is spelled -lar. Related word: similarity noun similarly adverb
• skilful (adjective). Remember that skilful is spelled with one l in the middle (the spelling skillful is American). Rule: Drop the last l when adding suffixes (endings) which begin with a consonant to words which end in a double l (here, skill plus -ful): skilful.
• success (noun). Spell success and the related word successful with a double c and a double s. Related word: successor noun
• sufficient (adjective). Spell sufficient with a double f; the ending is -cient.
• suppress (verb). Spell suppress with a double p and a double s.
• surprise (verb and noun). Remember that surprise has an r before and after the p. Unlike most verbs ending in -ise, it cannot be spelled with an -ize ending.
• threshold (noun). Remember that threshold is spelled with a single h.
• tomato (noun). The plural of tomato is made by adding -es: tomatoes.
• tomorrow (adverb and noun). Spell tomorrow with a single m and a double r. Tip: tomorrow morning, rise refreshed.
• truly (adverb). Rule: Truly is formed from true plus the ending -ly; it is one of a group of words in which the final silent e is dropped before adding -ly.
• twelfth (number). Remember that twelfth has an f in the middle. Tip: go to the twelfth floor of the building.
• unfortunately (adverb). Spell unfortunately with -ately at the end (it is made up of the adjective unfortunate plus the ending -ly).
• until (preposition and conjunction). Spell until with a single l.
• vegetarian (noun and adjective). Remember that the beginning of vegetarian is spelled vege-; the ending is -arian.
• vehicle (noun). Spell vehicle with -icle at the end.
• vicious (adjective). Remember that the beginning of vicious is spelled vici-.
• weird (adjective). Remember that weird is spelled with the e before the i: it does not follow the usual rule of i before e except after c. Tip: a weird, eerie, inhuman sound.
• wilful (adjective). Remember that wilful is spelled with one l in the middle (the spelling willful is American). Rule: Drop the last l when adding suffixes (endings) which begin with a consonant to words which end in a double l (here, will plus -ful): wilful.
• withhold (verb) (withholds, withholding, withheld). Remember that withhold is spelled with a double h (it is made up of the words with and hold)

For a longer list of words and hundreds of spelling tips see the latest edition of Oxford A-Z of Spelling