Commonly misspelled words in English

Being able to write without spelling mistakes is quite an underappreciated skill these days thanks to spell checkers, autocomplete and chat slang. Nevertheless, there are still some words that you just can’t afford to misspell, especially in a professional context.

While a spell checker might save the day on most occasions, even presidents and major news corporations have had their share of embarrassing spelling mistakes despite having all the available technology at their disposal.

So whether you're composing an email, drafting a report or just chatting with colleagues online (or getting a tattoo!), it is best not to end up with a `covfefe` gaffe. In this article, we'll take a look at the top 10 misspelled words that should be avoided in any professional English communication.

"A synonym is a word you use when you can't spell the other one."
― Baltasar Gracián

1. Misspelled

This one might seem a bit ironic, but it's actually one of the most commonly misspelled words in the English language. As is often the case when English words have doubled-up letters, it can be easy to forget exactly how many s's and l's there are in "misspelled". If you're not careful, you might end up spelling it as "mispelled", "misspeled" or even "mispeled".

How embarrassing would it be to misspell "misspelled"? Despite the irony, in a nearly 1000-person survey, it seems that 20% of Americans get it wrong.

It is also worth noting that "misspelled" is amongst the many words which may change spelling depending on dialect and location. In American English, the word is always spelled "misspelled". However, in British English, "misspelt" is also perfectly acceptable and is even perhaps the more common version. So, if you are in the USA, make sure you haven't spelt a misspelt "misspelled".

2. Embarrassing

Once again, "embarrassing" can be tricky because of its double r’s and s’s. It's easy to misspell as "embarassing" or "embarrasing", but both of these forms are, of course, incorrect.

The correct spelling is actually "embarrassing", so make sure to keep an eye out for those extra letters so that you don't embarrass yourself at work.

While on that topic, head over to Hubspot to find a bunch of embarrassing spelling mistakes made by brands in their advertisements.

3. Apparent

Now we finally come to English and its classic ambiguous pronunciation. Is it "apparant", "apparent", "apparint", or perhaps "apparunt"? Many English speakers would pronounce all of these spelling variations identically. For similar reasons, it is also easy to misspell the word as "apperent" or "apperant".

In fact, it is so rampant a misspelling that the West Virginia State Government had to include it in their list of 100 most commonly misspelled words in their learning resource.

When confronted with ambiguous pronunciation, it is best simply to look up the spelling and memorize it. In this case, it is "apparent".

Fortunately, this may be fairly easy to remember as "apparent" ends in 'rent' like many other English words (current, parent, deterrent). Be careful though! Words like "tolerant" and "ignorant" may throw you off!

4. Advertisement

According to Macmillan, advertisement is one of the 50 most frequently misspelled words, being often (wrongly) spelled as "advertisment". In fact, it was among the words that visitors tried to look up on their dictionary but did not succeed because they had spelled it incorrectly.

The clear problem is that the 'e' is silent. Fortunately, this hurdle is easy to overcome if you remember where the word comes from. An "advertisement" is something which you use to "advertise". So, just remember that "advertise" ends in an 'e' and "advertisement" should be no problem.

In a professional context, advertisement is a word that you are likely to come across often, so it is important to always watch out for that silent ‘e’.

5. Entrepreneur

With it’s French ancestry, the word "entrepreneur" has the pizzazz to pull off a showstopper. However, it does take time to get it right, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that "entrepreneur" is included in the list of top 10 wrongly spelled words by Grammarly.

While there are no shortcuts here, the only reasonable option to get the spelling right is to break it into three sections as ‘entre’ -’pre’- ‘neur’ making it easier to remember.

Now for some homophones that are frequently misspelled

It could very well be argued that getting a homophone wrong is not a spelling mistake but rather a lack of an understanding about its actual usage. Still, here are some of the most common culprits that could make you sound like a twit if you get them wrong. Prepare to pull your hair out..

6. Affect vs Effect

Considering that this is one of the common homophones that children tend to struggle with according to Scholastic, it becomes even more important to get it right as an adult and at your work place.

"Affect" is the verb while "effect" is the noun. To affect is to impact or to change (an action) whereas the effect is the result.

The war affected him profoundly, and the effects plagued on for the rest of his life.

7. Illicit vs Elicit

Be weary of this one as it could ruin your relationship with your boss or colleagues quickly if you get it wrong.

"Illicit" is an adjective denoting something that is forbidden, illegal or otherwise against the rule of the land. "Elicit", on the other hand, is a verb commonly used in business communication which means to evoke or draw out a response from another party.

His involvement in illicit trade was established conclusively with the available evidence but crafty investigators were able to elicit responses to corroborate his testimony.

8. Advise vs Advice

Although not strictly a homophone since "advise" ends in a "z" sound rather than an "s" sound like "advice", the words "advise" and "advice" are nevertheless often mixed up due to their similar pronunciations.

"Advise" with the 's' is the verb and the one with the 'c' is the noun. To make it easier to get them right, when there is an action happening, use "advise". For everything else, use "advice". So Please advise is the correct usage and not Please advice!

If you are a movie buff, then it is likely that these dialogues may help you when confused about when to use "advise" vs "advice":

"Thanks for the advice."
"Well, that's free."
― Shawshank Redemption

"I advised Michael."
― The Godfather

9. Complementary vs Complimentary

Considering how the unassuming vowel hides itself within the word, it is easy to get this wrong without a keen attention to detail. Yet, simply replacing an 'e' with an 'i' can change the meaning of a sentence completely.

Complementary is something that adds on, gets along or combines with something else to improve and enhance its qualities.

Hiring team members with complementary goals is a great way of building a successful partnership.

Complimentary, on the other hand, is an adjective indicating that something often praises someone or something. It also signifies that something is given away for free.

“Everyone likes a compliment,”
― Abraham Lincoln

10. Send vs Sent

Again, this is not a homophone, but rather two near-identically pronounced words. Indeed, they are simply two different forms of the same (irregular) verb. As such, it can be confusing as which spelling denotes which form of the verb.

Simply, "send" is the verb in its base form whereas "sent" is the past participle (past tense).

I often send emails late at night before I go to sleep.

I thought I sent you that package last week! I will send it tomorrow if I have the time.

While there are many other misspelled words out there, these were some of the most common ones that people make in a professional context. So next time you're sending an email or writing a report, take a moment to double-check your spelling. It could make all the difference in how your message is interpreted and could affect the way the recipient perceives you as well.

Also, find an excuse to keep reading and improving your vocabulary.