Common misspellings in UK business writing: what are the top 30 frequently misspelt words in business?
Call me old fashioned, but I hold tip-top spelling in high esteem. A misspelt word has the same effect as nails screeching down the blackboard.
If you’ve ever seen the Putnam County Spelling Bee, you’ll be amazed, dazed and possibly fazed by xerophthalmia, hausehole, omphaloskepsis and weltanschauung. Thankfully, they don’t pop up in the boardroom that often.
However, here are 30 business words that often do. How many would you get right?
How well can you spell these frequently misspelt business words?
Achieve – correct   Acheive – incorrect
Top tip: good old ‘ i before e’
Apparently – correct  Apparantly – incorrect
Top tip: no ants in your apparents
Argument – correct  Arguement – incorrect
Top tip:Â A Rude Girl Undresses; My Eyes Need Taping
Beginning – correct  Begining – incorrect
Top tip: this may be the beginning but there are 2 Ns in the middle
Business – correct  Buisness – incorrect
Top tip:Â keep busy in business
Committee – correct  Commitee – incorrect
Top tip:Â double m, double t, double e
Conscious – correct  Concious – incorrect
Top tip:Â c x 2, s x 2
Definitely – correct  Definately – incorrect
Top tip:Â think of the word ‘define’
Discipline  – correct   Disiplin – incorrect
Top tip: think silent c and silent e
Environment – correct  Enviroment – incorrect
Top tip: remember the word ‘environs’
Finally – correct  Finaly – incorrect
Top tip: end on double L
Government – correct  Goverment – incorrect
Top tip:Â think of the verb ‘to govern’
Immediately – correct  Immediatly – incorrect
Top tip:Â add ‘ly’ onto immediate
Knowledge – correct  Knowlege – incorrect
Top tip: keep what you know in your brain and not on the shelf (aka ledge)
Independent – correct  Independant – incorrect
Top tip:Â another ‘ent’ ender
Indispensable – correct  Indispensible – incorrect
Top tip:Â ‘she was so able, she was indispensable’
Judgement  – correct   Jugement – incorrect
Top tip: remember the verb ‘to judge’
Liaise – correct   Liase – incorrect
Top tip:Â A liaises between two Is
Necessary – correct  Neccesary – incorrect
Top tip:Â Never Eat Cheese Salad Sandwiches And Remain Young
No one – correct   Noone – incorrect
Top tip:Â let no one tell you this isn’t one word
Occurring – correct  Occuring – incorrect
Top tip: c x 2, r x 2
Piece – correct   Peice – incorrect
Top tip: our friend again – ‘ i before e’
Possession – correct  Posession – incorrect
Top tip: the word possesses four Ss
Proceed – correct  Procede – incorrect
Top tip:Â it’s spelt like exceed and succeed
Receive – correct   Recieve – incorrect
Top tip:Â once again –Â ‘ i before e’
Referred – correct  Refered – incorrect
Top tip:Â r x 2
Separate – correct   Seperate – incorrect
Top tip:Â Keep ‘a rat’ in the middle
Seize – correct   Sieze – incorrect
Top tip:Â i before e here
Supersede – correct  Superseed – incorrect
Top tip:Â the good news is that this is the only English word spelled with ‘sede’
Tendency – correct  Tendancy – incorrect
Top tip:Â e x 2
Any freelance copywriter worth their salt knows you can’t rely on the computer spell checker, especially with a Mac.  Fellow Mac users will share the frustration of having those Apple-loving Zs suggested at every opportunity. Sometimes it’s worth using a dictionary as a book and not as a book-end!
Misspelt v misspelled
Oh and just in case you’re wondering about what I always think is an odd-looking word, ‘misspelt’ is the UK version.
Written by Caroline Gibson, freelance copywriter and spelling lover. Get in touch if you come across any other weird and frequently misspelt words in business.
E: caroline@carolinegibson.co.uk T: +44 (0)Â 7957 567766
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