Kentucky’s most misspelled word, according to study

KENTUCKY (FOX 56) — Ahead of next week’s National Spelling Bee, a company called Word Unscrambler released a list of the most misspelled words in each state.

According to the study, Kentuckians struggle most with spelling “people,” and the same goes for South Dakota and Virginia.

“This years most misspelled words violate many phonics rules, contain silent letters, contain double letters, originate from other languages, and use tricky suffixes. Words that contain silent letters: scissors, through, pneumonia, character, daughter. Words with irregular vowel sounds: different, people, through, character, daughter. Words that use tricky suffixes like -ture, -ate, -ence: temperature, character, appreciate, patience, compliment, protective. Words that contain difficult consonant blends: scratch, school, schedule, cancelled. Availability of autocorrect in all devices results in misspelling common words like ‘beautiful’ or ‘necessary’. Studies suggest heavy reliance on autocorrect weakens spelling skills over time. Some researchers call it digital amnesia. We simply forget things that we delegate to technology. Misspellings might be on the rise not because we know less, but because we need to know less.”
A spokesperson for WordUnscrambler.pro

In New Jersey and Illinois, it’s “congratulations” that trips people up.

New Yorkers have a hard time with different.

But the biggest outlier is Vermont, where the most misspelled word is “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.”

Most misspelled words in America:

1. Definitely – 33 500 searches.
2. Separate – 30 000 searches.
3. Necessary – 29 000 searches.
4. Believe – 28 500 searches.
5. Through – 28 000 searches
6. Gorgeous –  27 000 searches
7. Neighbor – 25 500 searches
8. Business – 24 200 searches
9. Favorite – 23 000 searches
10. Restaurant – 22 500 searches

Most misspelled words for each U.S. state:

• Alabama – Different
• Alaska –  Tomorrow
• Arizona – People
• Arkansas – Quesadilla
• California – Appreciation
• Colorado – Sergeant
• Connecticut – Schedule
• Delaware – Beautiful
• Florida – Compliment
• Georgia – Necessary
• Hawaii – Luau
• Idaho – Definitely
• Illinois – Congratulations
• Indiana – Taught
• Iowa – Through
• Kansas – Different
• Kentucky – People
• Louisiana – Through
• Maine – Pneumonia
• Maryland – Character
• Massachusetts – Beautiful
• Michigan – Scratch
• Minnesota – Successful
• Mississippi – Beautiful
• Missouri – Temperature
• Montana – Appreciate
• Nebraska – Beautiful
• Nevada – School
• New Hampshire – Protective
• New Jersey – Congratulations
• New Mexico – Appreciate
• New York – Different
• North Carolina – Secret
• North Dakota – Daughter
• Ohio – Crochet
• Oklahoma – Patience
• Oregon – Business
• Pennsylvania – Scissors
• Rhode Island – Cancelled
• South Carolina – People
• South Dakota – Beautiful
• Tennessee – Broccoli
• Texas – Protect
• Utah – Definitely
• Vermont – Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
• Virginia – People
• Washington – Appreciation
• West Virginia – Beautiful
• Wisconsin – Different
• Wyoming – Beautiful

WordUnscrambler said it looked at Google Trends search data for “How do you spell” and “How to spell” from Jan. 1, 2025, to May 19 to come to these conclusions.