Word Lists
All registered participants will receive weekly practice word lists starting the week of March 1st 2016.
Primary Source of Reference
Webster's Third New International Dictionary and its addenda section, copyright 2002, Merriam-Webster, (Webster's Third) is the final authority for the spelling of words. All words given in competition are entries in Webster's Third. If more than one spelling is listed for a word that the pronouncer has provided for the speller to spell, any of these spellings will be accepted as correct if all of the following three criteria are met: (1) The pronunciations of the words are identical, (2) the definitions of the words are identical, and (3) the words are clearly identified as being standard variants of each other. Spellings at other locations having temporal labels (such as archaic, obsolete), stylistic labels (such as substand, nonstand), or regional labels (such as North, Midland, Irish) which differ from main entry spellings not having these status labels will not be accepted as correct.
Sample Written Test Questions
Web Resources
- http://www.myspellit.com/
- Spelling bee study guide on eHow.com : http://www.ehow.com/how_2046286_study-spelling-bee.html
- 100 most misspelled words -- http://www.yourdictionary.com/library/misspelled.html
- 150 more misspelled words -- http://www.yourdictionary.com/library/150more.html
- http://www.kidsspell.com/
- Kindergarten words : http://www.enchantedlearning.com/Vocabulary/VocabWordsK.shtml
- First grade vocabulary : http://www.enchantedlearning.com/Vocabulary/VocabWords1.shtml
- Second grade vocabulary : http://www.enchantedlearning.com/Vocabulary/VocabWords2.shtml
- Dolch word lists from pre-K to 3rd Grade : http://www.wvonline.com/adamston/dolch.htm
Words That Won
| Year | Word | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Laodicean | lukewarm or indifferent in religion or politics |
| 2008 | guerdon | something that one has earned or gained : a reward, recompense, requital |
| 2007 | serrefine | a small forceps for clamping a blood vessel |
| 2006 | ursprache | a parent language; especially : one reconstructed from the evidence of later languages |
| 2005 | appoggiatura | an accessory embellishing note or tone preceding an essential melodic note or tone |
| 2004 | autochthonous | indigenous, native, aboriginal—used especially in nature |
| 2003 | pococurante | indifferent, nonchalant |
| 2002 | prospicience | the act of looking forward : foresight |
| 2001 | succedaneum | a person or thing that takes the place or function of another |
| 2000 | demarche | a course of action or maneuver |
| 1999 | logorrhea | excessive talkativeness or wordiness |
| 1998 | chiaroscurist | an artist who specializes in chiaroscuro |
| 1997 | euonym | a name well suited to the person, place, or thing named |
| 1996 | vivisepulture | the act or practice of burying alive |
Words That Stumped Spellers In The Past
| Word | Definition |
|---|---|
| ankylosaur | any of a suborder (Ankylosauria) of herbivorous Cretaceous dinosaurs having a long low-lying thickset body covered dorsally with bony plates |
| coulombs | the practical meter-kilogram-second units of electric charge equal to the quantity of electricity transferred by a current of one ampere in one second |
| delitescent | lying hidden : obfuscated, latent |
| eleemosynary | relating to, or supported by charity |
| gauche | lacking social experience or grace; also : not tactful : crude |
| larghissimo | in as slow a manner as possible — used as a direction in music |
| pentateuchal | of or relating to the first five books of the Old Testament |
| sussultatory | characterized by up-and-down vibrations of large amplitude — used of an earthquake |
| triskaidekaphobia | fear of the number 13 |
| zebu | any of various breeds of domestic oxen developed in India that are characterized by a large fleshy hump over the shoulders, a dewlap, pendulous ears, and marked resistance to the injurious effects of heat and insect attack |