Purdue University North Central Writing Center Handout

Master List of Frequently Misspelled Words

 

 

            All misspelled words on the GED Test will be taken from the following master list.  Other forms of most of these words, including plurals and forms requiring suffixes, also may be tested.

 

a lot

again

approval

before

ability

against

approve

beginning

absence

aggravate

approximate

being

absent

aggressive

argue

believe

across

agree

arguing

benefit

abundance

aisle

argument

benefited

accept

all right

arouse

between

acceptable

almost

arrange

bicycle

accident

already

arrangement

board

accommodate

although

article

bored

accompanied

altogether

artificial

borrow

accomplish

always

ascend

bottle

accumulation

amateur

assistance

bottom

accuse

American

assistant

boundary

accustomed

among

associate

brake

ache

amount

association

breadth

achieve

analysis

attempt

breath

achievement

analyze

attendance

breathe

acknowledge

angel

attention

brilliant

acquaintance

angle

audience

building

acquainted

annual

August

bulletin

acquire

another

author

bureau

across

answer

automobile

burial

address

antiseptic

autumn

buried

addressed

anxious

auxiliary

bury

adequate

apologize

available

bushes

advantageous

apparatus

avenue

business

advantage

apparent

awful

cafeteria

advertise

appear

awkward

calculator

advertisement

appearance

bachelor

calendar

advice

appetite

balance

campaign

advisable

application

balloon

capital

advise

apply

bargain

capitol

advisor

appreciate

basic

captain

aerial

appreciation

beautiful

career

affect

approach

because

careful

affectionate

appropriate

become

careless


 

carriage

continuous

dilemma

evening

carrying

controlled

dinner

evident

category

controversy

direction

exaggerate

ceiling

convenience

disappear

exaggeration

cemetery

convenient

disappoint

examine

cereal

conversation

disappointment

exceed

certain

corporal

disapproval

excellent

changeable

corroborate

disapprove

except

characteristic

council

disastrous

exceptional

charity

counsel

discipline

exercise

chief

counselor

discover

exhausted

choose

courage

discriminate

exhaustion

chose

courageous

disease

exhilaration

cigarette

course

dissatisfied

existence

circumstance

courteous

dissection

exorbitant

congratulate

courtesy

dissipate

expense

citizen

criticism

distance

experience

clothes

criticize

distinction

experiment

clothing

crystal

division

explanation

coarse

curiosity

doctor

extreme

coffee

cylinder

dollar

facility

collect

daily

doubt

factory

college

daughter

dozen

familiar

column

daybreak

earnest

fascinate

comedy

death

easy

fascinating

comfortable

deceive

ecstasy

fatigue

commitment

December

ecstatic

February

committed

deception

education

financial

committee

decide

effect

financier

communicate

decision

efficiency

flourish

company

decisive

efficient

forcibly

comparative

deed

eight

forehead

compel

definite

either

foreign

competent

delicious

eligibility

formal

competition

dependent

eligible

former

compliment

deposit

eliminate

fortunate

conceal

derelict

embarrass

fourteen

conceit

descend

embarrassment

fourth

conceivable

descent

emergency

frequent

conceive

describe

emphasis

friend

concentration

description

emphasize

frightening

conception

desert

enclosure

fundamental

condition

desirable

encouraging

further

conference

despair

endeavor

gallon

confident

desperate

engineer

garden

conquer

dessert

English

gardener

conscience

destruction

enormous

general

conscientious

determine

enough

genius

conscious

develop

entrance

government

consequence

development

envelope

governor

consequently

device

environment

grammar

considerable

dictator

equipment

grateful

consistency

died

equipped

great

consistent

difference

especially

grievance

continual

different

essential

grievous


 

grocery

irresistible

minimum

overcoat

guarantee

irritable

miracle

paid

guess

island

miscellaneous

pamphlet

guidance

its

mischief

panicky

half

it’s

mischievous

parallel

hammer

itself

misspelled

parallelism

handkerchief

January

mistake

particular

happiness

jealous

momentous

partner

healthy

judgment

monkey

pastime

heard

journal

monotonous

patience

heavy

kindergarten

moral

peace

height

kitchen

morale

peaceable

heroes

knew

mortgage

pear

heroine

knock

mountain

peculiar

hideous

know

mournful

pencil

himself

knowledge

muscle

people

hoarse

labor

mysterious

perceive

holiday

laboratory

mystery

perception

hopeless

laid

narrative

perfect

hospital

language

natural

perform

humorous

later

necessary

performance

hurried

latter

needle

perhaps

hurrying

laugh

negligence

period

ignorance

leisure

neighbor

permanence

imaginary

length

neither

permanent

imbecile

lesson

newspaper

perpendicular

imitation

library

newsstand

perseverance

immediately

license

nickel

persevere

immigrant

light

niece

persistent

incidental

lightening

noticeable

persuade

increase

likelihood

o’clock

personality

independence

likely

obedient

personal

independent

literal

obstacle

personnel

indispensable

literature

occasion

persuade

inevitable

livelihood

occasional

persuasion

influence

loaf

occur

pertain

influential

loneliness

occurred

picture

initiate

loose

occurrence

piece

innocence

lose

ocean

plain

inoculate

losing

offer

playwright

inquiry

loyal

often

pleasant

insistent

loyalty

omission

please

instead

magazine

omit

pleasure

instinct

maintenance

once

pocket

integrity

maneuver

operate

poison

intellectual

marriage

opinion

policeman

intelligence

married

opportune

political

intercede

marry

opportunity

population

interest

match

optimist

portrayal

interfere

material

optimistic

positive

interference

mathematics

origin

possess

interpreted

measure

original

possession

interrupt

medicine

oscillate

possessive

invitation

million

ought

possible

irrelevant

miniature

ounce

post office


 

potatoes

recipe

similar

toward

practical

recognize

similarity

tragedy

prairie

recommend

sincerely

transferred

precede

recuperate

site

treasury

preceding

referred

solider

tremendous

precise

rehearsal

solemn

tries

predictable

reign

sophomore

truly

prefer

relevant

soul

twelfth

preference

relieve

source

twelve

preferential

remedy

souvenir

tyranny

preferred

renovate

special

undoubtedly

prejudice

repeat

specified

United States

preparation

repetition

specimen

university

prepare

representative

speech

unnecessary

prescription

requirements

stationary

unusual

presence

resemblance

stationery

vacuum

president

resistance

statue

useful

prevalent

resource

stockings

usual

primitive

respectability

stomach

valley

principal

responsibility

straight

valuable

principle

restaurant

strength

variety

privilege

rhythm

strenuous

vegetable

probably

rhythmical

stretch

vein

procedure

ridiculous

striking

vengeance

proceed

right

studying

versatile

produce

role

substantial

vicinity

professional

roll

succeed

vicious

professor

roommate

successful

view

profitable

sandwich

sudden

village

prominent

Saturday

superintendent

villain

promise

scarcely

suppress

visitor

pronounce

scene

surely

voice

pronunciation

schedule

surprise

volume

propeller

science

suspense

waist

prophecy

scientific

sweat

weak

prophet

scissors

sweet

wear

prospect

season

syllable

weather

psychology

secretary

symmetrical

Wednesday

pursue

seize

sympathy

week

pursuit

seminar

synonym

weigh

quality

sense

technical

weird

quantity

separate

telegram

whether

quarreling

service

telephone

which

quart

several

temperament

while

quarter

severely

temperature

whole

quiet

shepherd

tenant

wholly

quite

sheriff

tendency

whose

raise

shinning

tenement

wretched

realistic

shoulder

therefore

 

realize

shriek

thorough

 

reason

siege

through

 

rebellion

sight

title

 

recede

signal

together

 

receipt

significance

tomorrow

 

receive

significant

tongue