200 Difficult English Words to Spell
What's more difficult than a horse walking a tightrope? Maybe it's spelling all 200 of these words correctly the first time!Everyone has their own list of difficult English words to spell, but we've pulled 200 of the most common together here in one list! Once you've mastered all of these words (and their meanings), you'll be a strong speller in almost any group of people. If you're thinking of competing in a spelling bee, here's a great place to launch your studies!
200 Difficult English Words to Spell
Broccoli is a vegetable.This big list is shown here in two parts. Master one half of the list first, and then move on to study the other half of these difficult English words. Be sure to get your free printable version!
- accessory
- accidentally
- accommodate
- achievement
- acquiesce
- aerial
- already
- ancestor
- arrangement
- asphalt
- assignment
- asthma
- athletic
- attorneys
- audible
- bankruptcy
- beautifully
- behavior
- bizarre
- bologna
- bouillon
- brilliant
- broccoli
- budget
- bureaucracy
- business
- caffeine
- calendar
- cashier
- catastrophe
- census
- chaos
- cashier
- characteristic
- cinnamon
- colleague
- commercial
- conscientious
- croissant
- customary
- daybreak
- deceitful
- defendant
- definitely
- diagnosis
- difference
- diesel
- disappeared
- disapproval
- discrepancy
- dominate
- doubtfully
- eerily
- eighth
- embarrass
- eligible
- enforceable
- encouragement
- entrepreneur
- epitome
- especially
- excessive
- existence
- extremity
- February
- feud
- flexible
- fluorescent
- forfeit
- fortunately
- frivolous
- fuchsia
- galaxy
- genuine
- giraffe
- glacier
- gnawing
- grateful
- guarantee
- gymnasium
- handsome
- haphazard
- harass
- hazardous
- headquarters
- height
- heirloom
- heist
- homogenous
- immeasurable
- immediately
- impasse
- indict
- innocence
- innumerable
- intelligence
- interrupt
- irksome
- irresistible
- island
- jacquard
- jewelry
- juicy
- juror
- justifiable
- khaki
- knickknack
- knives
- laboratory
- larynx
- league
- legendary
- leisure
- liaison
- license
- lieutenant
- lightning
- liquefy
- lunar
- luncheon
- malicious
- maneuvering
- mathematician
- mattress
- meteor
- mediocre
- milieu
- millennium
- minuscule
- mischievous
- misspell
- narcissistic
- nauseous
- necessary
- negligence
- neighbor
- neutral
- noticeable
- nuisance
- numerator
- oblique
- occasion
- occurring
- onomatopoeia
- opposite
- orangutan
- overrate
- pageant
- paradigm
- paraphernalia
- perseverance
- phenomenon
- phlegm
- picnicking
- playwright
- pneumonia
- poignant
- potential
- prospectus
- quandary
- questionnaire
- queue
- quixotic
- quotient
- recommend
- reexamine
- relevant
- relief
- retrieve
- rhythm
- roommate
- sacrilegious
- sandwich
- schedule
- schism
- scholar
- seismic
- sherbet
- squirrel
- thieves
- threshold
- transient
- twelfth
- tyranny
- unanimous
- unnecessary
- unique
- vacuum
- vegetable
- variegated
- vengeance
- vulnerable
- Wednesday
- weird
- wieldy
- wrestling
- yacht
- zephyr
- zoology
- zucchini
Word Meanings
It's important to also learn word meanings, along with word spellings. Here are the definitions of just 20 of the words in the list above. Can you match each one? Find my answers under the blue button below.
A. surroundings, especially socially or culturally
B. neither perpendicular nor parallel to a given line; slanting or sloping
C. fabric with an elaborately woven design
D. made of parts or elements that are all of the same kind
E. a difference, inconsistency, or variation
F. to submit or comply without protest
G. a limb of the body
H. capable of being dealt with easily
I. the stone or piece of wood that lies under a door
J. foolishly impractical
K. in humans, the upper part of the trachea that contains the vocal cords
L. a coworker
M. marked by lack of plan, order or direction
N. oppressive power
O. the act of identifying a diseased condition
P. a typical or ideal example
Q. a writer of plays
R. a gentle, mild breeze
S. a division or separation
T. showing a lack of respect for a sacred person, place or object
More Lists of Difficult English Words
Difficult English Spelling Words - Here's my whopping list of 285 words spelled with IE and EI! Use this list to learn and practice the words you use most. Expand your skills and vocabulary with words you don't know. Use our free Step by Step spelling lesson plans to learn more about mastering these words. If you'd like to add more to this mega-list, please contact me with your additions!
172 Hard Words to Spell Study what makes these words (and so many others) so difficult to spell! Improve your spelling skills as you master the challenge words on this list. Learn more about unfamiliar words, words with tricky vowel combinations, silent consonants, double consonants and more. Follow the links to additional word lists and study tools! Words on the list include abecedarian, absquatulate, boutonniere, cappuccino, connoisseur, diaphanous, impuissance, logorrhea, pastiche, psephology, querulous, rinceau, terpsichorean, and many, many more.
Hard Spelling Words - This list includes words in which it's sometimes hard to remember if the consonants are doubled when suffixes are added. Print out the word list to use with the Step by Step free spelling lesson that explains this skill.
B. oblique
C. jacquard
D. homogenous
E. discrepancy
F. acquiesce
G. extremity
H. wieldy
I. threshold
J. quixotic
K. larynx
L. colleague
M. chaos or haphazard
N. tyranny
O. diagnosis
P. epitome
Q. playwright
R. zephyr
S. schism
T. sacrilegious
Other answers may also be possible.
Ann Richmond Fisher is a longtime published educational writer, a former classroom teacher and a former homeschool teacher. Ann's spelling bee resources, graded spelling word lists, spelling games, worksheets, and other language arts resources have become respected around the globe since she launched Spelling-Words-Well in 2010.
Ann is also the creator of www.word-game-world.com.
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Difficult English Words to Spell
Master this list of 200 difficult English words to spell, and you'll be a strong speller! Free PDF available. Links to more hard word lists are included. -
172 Hard Words to Spell
Here's a list of 172 hard words to spell, along with reasons WHY these words are tough. We include practice tips for improving your spelling skills.
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