Image: shutterstock
About This Quiz
Spelling: It famously does *not* correlate with IQ, but that doesn't keep us from caring about getting it right! With good reason, too: Nothing can tank a resume or important email like a spelling blunder. Putting your faith in spellcheck? Bad idea. Spellcheck can't catch everything. It can't know, for example, whether your 40th anniversary is "imminent" or "eminent."
Whether you're feeling secure about your spelling skills, or a bit shaky, we've created a 35-question quiz to help you see where you stand. Here's how it works: To keep things interesting, we've mixed up the types of questions. Sometimes you'll be given three spellings of the same word, and asked to pick the one that's right (or "none of these are correct.") Other times, you'll be presented with different words, only one of which is misspelled, or spelled correctly. And sometimes the right answer will be "All of these are spelled correctly" or "None of these are spelled correctly."ÂÂ
Sound like fun? Or at least, like a challenge? Sharpen your wits (you won't need a pencil) and test your skills now. We promise that no matter how you score, you won't have to stay after school and clap erasers. (Is that still a thing?)
Which version is spelled correctly?
morgauge
mourtgage
mortgage
After the housing crisis of 2007-2009, we should all have this word burned into our brains. Still, if you're confused, there's no "u," not in the first syllable nor the last.
all of these are wrong
Which version is spelled correctly?
artic
arktic
arctic
You'll sometimes hear people refer to the "Artic Circle," just like they might refer to "tumeric" instead of "turmeric" being used in Indian food. In both cases, a consonant is missing.
all of these are wrong
Which version is spelled correctly?
asess
assess
The mispronunciation of this word is a favorite joke in sitcoms. Think about it, and you'll understand why.
acsess
all of these are wrong
Advertisement
Which version is spelled correctly?
colateral
collateral
It's hard to blame people who get this one wrong. If you're thinking of geometry, it really seems like it should be "co-lateral."
coladderal
all of these are wrong
Which version is spelled correctly?
gaurantee
garanty
garantee
All of these are wrong.
The correct version is "guarantee": u before a, with two e's instead of a y. Don't be confused by the related term, "warranty" -- which doesn't have a u, and does end with a y.
Which version is spelled correctly?
affidavit
This term is another tricky one that's often misspelled. Fortunately, it's mostly lawyers and judges who need to use it.
afidavit
affadavit
All of these are wrong.
Advertisement
Which version is spelled correctly?
consencus
connsensus
concensis
All of these are wrong.
"Consensus" means "agreement of the majority of a group." The right spelling has one c and three s's.
Which version is spelled correctly?
conscius
conscious
"Conscious" means "awake or aware." If the spelling keeps evading you, maybe it's better to use those two words in place of one.
conscios
All of these are wrong.
Which version is spelled correctly?
ninety
When in doubt, look for the whole word "nine." That's how the syllable is pronounced, after all.
ninty
neinty
All of these are wrong.
Advertisement
Which version is spelled correctly?
Ceaser
Caesar
Why is this important, two thousand years after the fall of the Roman empire? Because we eat lots of Caesar salad -- and about half the "today's special" boards in world get the spelling wrong, that's why!
Caeser
All of these are wrong.
Which version is spelled correctly?
acomodate
accomodate
acommodate
All of these are wrong.
This often-misspelled word requires two c's and two m's. Therefore, "accommodate."
Which version is spelled correctly?
tourniquet
This French-derived word uses a "ou" combination to make the short "u" sound. So does "tournament."
terniquet
torniquet
All of these are wrong.
Advertisement
Which version is spelled correctly?
zugma
zoogma
zeugma
Yes, it's a word. It's a literary technique. When a phrase is inverted to make a point, like "If Mohammed cannot come to the mountain, the mountain will come to Mohammed," that's zeugma.
This is not a word.
Which version is spelled correctly?
ascent
"Ascent" is correct. It is the noun form of "ascend," meaning "to rise."
asscent
askent
All of these are wrong.
Which word is spelled correctly?
enthuisiam
ofense
vague
"Vague" is a word meaning "unclear" or "foggy," in a metaphoric, not meterological, sense. The other words should be "enthusiasm" and "offense."
All of these are wrong.
Advertisement
Which word is spelled correctly?
chalenge
petition
"Petition" is the right choice here. It comes from the Latin "peto, petere," meaning "to ask for."
remembranse
All of these are wrong.
Which word is spelled correctly?
exsessive
liesure
rane
All of these are wrong.
None of these are correct. They should be "excessive," "leisure," and "reign" (or "rein." The former means "to rule;" the latter is a strap that you direct a beast of burden with).
Which word is spelled correctly?
oxiliary
inevitable
"Inevitable" means "certain to happen." The other two words should be spelled "auxiliary" and "vacancy."
vacansy
All of these are wrong.
Advertisement
Which word is spelled correctly?
jepardy
license
Don't be confused by the British spelling of this word. "licence." Unless you're British, in which case, don't be confused by the US spelling.
rellevant
All of these are wrong.
Which word is spelled correctly?
councel
isicle
irresistible
"Irresistible" is sometimes misspelled as "irresistable." There's really no reason it *shouldn't* be spelled that way, except the peculiarities of English.
All of these are wrong.
Which word is spelled correctly?
amiable
amicable
amity
All of these are correct.
Yup, "amiable" and "amicable" are both words. The first is a personality trait. The second refers to relations between people: "an amicable negotiation." The general state of people getting along is "amity."
Advertisement
Which word is spelled correctly?
heir
"Heir," with a silent "h," means a person who inherits. The other two words should be "herald" and "heifer."
heralld
heffer
All of these are wrong.
Which word is misspelled?
faint
feint
fann
"Faint" means "weak or exhausted" or "to collapse." A "feint" is a fake-out move used in swordplay. But "fan" is misspelled (unless "fann" became a hot new word on Twitter since you started this quiz -- better check!)
All of these are right.
Which word is misspelled?
nicely
notise
This word should be "notice." It's easy to mistake a "soft c" for an "s," though.
noxious
All of these are right.
Advertisement
Which word is misspelled?
beau
bow
bough
All of these are right.
Of these three, we use "bow" the most; the other two are somewhat old-fashioned. "Bow" is usually a noun when it has a long "o" (bow and arrow), and can be either a noun or a verb when it's short (take a bow!)
Which word is misspelled?
gild
guilt
guyle
The first two are famous because of wordplay in "Macbeth": "I'll gild the sleeping grooms with blood/For it must seem their guilt." Here, Lady Macbeth is showing her guile. (See what we did there?)
All of these are right.
Which word is misspelled?
exalt
extoll
The misspelled word should be "extol." "Exalt" and "exult" are closely related words, meaning "to praise" and "to rejoice," respectively.
exult
All of these are right.
Advertisement
Which word is misspelled?
accelerrate
"Accelerate," of course, means to speed up. The antonym is "decelerate," and only uses one "c."
animated
amusement
All of these are right.
Which word is misspelled?
jeweler
joyfull
You probably don't need "joyful" defined. But some people do mistakenly add a second "l," which is wrong (unless they're referring to the snack-food brand).
judgment
All of these are right.
Which word is misspelled?
mulish
misinterpret
mangy
All of these are right.
This selection includes two adjectives derived from the animal world. "Mulish" means "like a mule, stubborn." "Mangy" is "shabby or nearly-bare, like a dog with mange."
Advertisement
Which word is misspelled?
deceipt
"Deceit" rhymes with "receipt," but aren't spelled alike. (This one is for people who are bothered by the fact that "bicycle" doesn't rhyme with "recycle.")
disable
dissociative
All of these are right.
Which word is misspelled?
abracadabra
slaight (of hand)
Of all these magical terms, "sleight (of hand)" is incorrect. Are you surprised that there's an official spelling of "abracadabra"? It's true -- you can check any reputable dictionary.
legerdemain
All of these are right.
Which word is misspelled?
unfair
unity
unnison
"Unison" comes from music and refers to having the same pitch. We often use it, though, to refer to two or more people saying the same thing at the exact same time, usually spontaneously. ("Out of beer?")
All of these are right.
Advertisement
Which word is misspelled?
bennefit
Doubling letters that are supposed to be singular is a common spelling mistake. But when you're making a present participle out of a verb, it's often the right choice: "spin" becomes "spinning," and so on.
bountiful
breakfast
All of these are right.
You Got:
/35
shutterstock