Editor's Corner

Here is a list of commonly misspelled words in business writing from DailyWritingTips. The list also includes some tips that may help you to remember the correct spelling.

Remember that spell checker programs catch a lot of errors, but they don’t always catch everything. It is important to reread your communication before sending it out.

1.
Misspelled: seperate
Correct: separate
Tip: There’s a rat in sep-a-rate.

2.
Misspelled: definate
Correct: definite
Tip: Take a close look at the final syllable: nite.

3.
Misspelled: calender
Correct: calendar
Tip: You probably pronounce the last syllable as [er], so you have to think [ar] as you write it: cal-en-dar.

4.
Misspelled: mispell
Correct: misspell
Tip: You know how to spell spell; add the prefix mis- to it: mis-spell.

5.
Misspelled: privlege
Correct: privilege
Tip: You may pronounce this three-syllable word with only two syllables. Notice the second i: priv-i-lege. Another common misspelling is privilige. Note the e in the final syllable: priv-i-lege.

6.
Misspelled: arguement
Correct: argument
Tip: The verb argue ends in e, but you must drop the e for ar-gu-ment.

7.
Misspelled: concensus
Correct: consensus
Tip: The sensus in consensus has nothing to do with the word census. Our word census comes from Latin censare, “to rate, assess.” Consensus comes from Latin consensus, “agreement, accord, sympathy, common feeling.” Think SSS: Con-Sen-SuS.

8.
Misspelled: pronounciation
Correct: pronunciation
Tip: There’s no “ounce” in pronunciation, but there is a “nun.” The verb is pronounce; the noun is pro-nun-ci-a-tion.

9.
Misspelled: accomodate
Correct: accommodate
Tip: Two sets of double letters, cc and mm: accommodate

10.
Misspelled: dependant
Correct: dependent
Tip: People who misspell this one may be thinking of defendant, which does end in –ant (although the –ant in defendant is also pronounced [ent].) Note the final syllable in dependent: de-pen-dENT.

Jackie Solano | Technical Editor | Symitar®

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