50 Words with Alternative Spellings

50 Words with Alternative Spellings 50 Words with Alternative Spellings 50 Words with Alternative Spellings By Mark Nichol What is one to do when one finds a choice of spellings in the dictionary? Most dictionaries specify the preferred variant when two or more spellings of a word are listed, but others aren’t so clear. According to Merriam-Webster’s website, the former spelling is more common than the latter for the following words and is the preferred alternative: 1. acknowledgment / acknowledgement 2. adapter / adaptor 3. adviser / advisor (but advisory) 4. aeon / eon 5. ambience / ambiance 6. amok / amuck 7. appall / appal 8. around / round 9. ax / axe 10. caliber / calibre 11. counselor / counsellor 12. doughnut / donut 13. enclose / inclose 14. enroll / enrol 15. furor / furore 16. glamour / glamor 17. gray / grey 18. impostor / imposter 19. ingrain / engrain 20. inquire / enquire 21. judgment / judgement 22. lambaste / lambast 23. likable / likeable 24. linchpin / lynchpin 25. meager / meagre 26. mollusk / mollusc 27. movable / moveable 28. ocher / ochre 29. omelet / omelette 30. opossum / possum (but playing possum) 31. pincer / pinchers 32. pixilated / pixillated (distinct from pixelated) 33. pompon / pom-pom 34. racket / racquet (but racquetball) 35. sherbet / sherbert 36. somber / somber 37. specter / spectre 38. sulfur / sulphur 39. T-shirt / tee shirt 40. theater / theatre 41. till / ’til or til 42. timbre / timber 43. vial / phial 44. woolen / woollen 45. woolly / wooly 46. yogurt / yoghurt Discussion of distinctions in alternative spellings of some other words follows: 47. Bologna is the name of the meat product; baloney is a quaint slang synonym for nonsense. 48. Lasagne is an alternate spelling for the pasta usually referred to as lasagna; the latter spelling predominates for the name of the baked dish. 49. Mic and mike are both acceptable as short versions of microphone. 50. Savannah is spelled as such only as the name of the city in Georgia or the name of a hybrid of the serval, an African cat, and the domestic cat; otherwise, it’s spelled savanna. This list omits spelling variations that are primarily distinct in usage in American English versus British English (though some, such as gray/grey and specter/spectre, are also variations divided by an ocean). See this discussion on that topic with a list of categories of spelling differences. (But it’s a stick and tricky matter, so check out the comments for input from site visitors as well.) Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the General category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:45 Synonyms for â€Å"Food†Writing the CenturyPhrasal Verbs and Phrasal Nouns