(NEXSTAR) – The 97th Scripps National Spelling Bee took place this past week, showcasing the orthographical talents of the best and brightest youngsters in the nation.
And unlike us, none of them were using Google to double-check their spelling.
In honor of this year’s Bee, WordUnscrambler.pro — an online resource for wordsmiths and Scrabble enthusiasts — has attempted to determine the most misspelled word in each state by studying the volume of Google searches containing phrases like “How do you spell [X]” or “How to spell [X].”
The site’s analysts also enlisted the help of Ahrefs, a marketing and SEO company, to determine the volume of searches and the variations of possible spelling queries for the analysis.
The results revealed the most misspelled word in Wisconsin and every other state.
Spelling bee champ wins by visualizing words typed on keyboard
A representative for the site said many of the commonly misspelled words shared similar attributes, such as silent letters, tricky vowel sounds, or foreign etymologies. Having autocorrect on our phones and computers may also be contributing to poorer spelling ability, the spokesperson noted.
“We simply forget things that we delegate to technology,” the spokesperson wrote in an emailed statement obtained by Nexstar. “Misspellings might be on the rise not because we know less, but because we need to know less.”
Which words do Wisconsinites often misspell? It’s the word ‘different.’
But what about Americans as a whole?
On a national level, the results of the analysis determined that Americans misspell the word “definitely” more than any other, with 33,500 searches for the word’s correct spelling recorded from January 1 through May 16, 2025. “Separate” and “necessary” followed behind with 30,000 searches and 29,000 searches, respectively.
America’s most misspelled words, according to WordUnscrambler.pro
- Definitely – 33,500 searches.
- Separate – 30,000 searches.
- Necessary – 29,000 searches.
- Believe – 28,500 searches.
- Through – 28,000 searches.
- Gorgeous – 27,000 searches.
- Neighbor – 25,500 searches.
- Business – 24,200 searches.
- Favorite – 23,000 searches.
- Restaurant – 22,500 searches.
When it comes to individual states, many of those same words appear to be most difficult for residents to spell. Some of the notable outliers include: residents of Hawaii, who often appear to have trouble with “luau”; residents of Tennessee, who aren’t so sure how to spell “broccoli”; and Google users in Vermont, who more often request the correct spelling of “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.”
America’s most misspelled words by state, according to WordUnscrambler.pro:
- 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
Scripps spelling bee celebrates a century of testing young learners
The results of the analysis were released just in time for the 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee, which itself came just in time to make Americans everywhere feel slightly worse about their own spelling abilities. Faizan Zaki, 13, a student from Allen, Texas, won the competition after correctly spelling the word “eclaircissement,” which Merriam-Webster defines as “a clearing up of something obscure.”
He then fell to the floor as confetti rained down upon the stage.
“One thing that differentiates him is he really has a passion for this,” a friend of his told the Associated Press. “In his free time, when he’s not studying for the bee, he’s literally looking up archaic, obsolete words that have no chance of being asked.”
