List of 73 Words People Say Wrong
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You might be looking for a collection of words that are frequently mispronounced. Need to find examples? Check out this useful list of words people say wrong.
Antarctic | Be sure to pronounce the c in this word. |
arctic | Make sure you enunciate the c in this word. |
asterisk | Don't forget the s in this word, which comes before the k, not after it. |
athlete | Some people insert an unnecessary syllable into this one, pronouncing it as "athelete"; it's "ath-leet," not "ath-el-eet." |
Australia | Be sure to pronounce the four syllables: "aus-tra-li-ya," not "os-tra-ya." |
barbed wire | Don't say "bob wire." The wire is not named after Bob. |
barbiturate | It's not "barbituate," so be sure to pronounce the second r in this word. |
business | "Bidness" is common in the Southern United States, but don't use this pronunciation in a formal context. |
cache | Pronounced "cash" rather than "catch" or "caysh." |
cacophony | Pronounced "ca-caw-fone-ee," not "caw-ca-fone-ee." |
Calvary/cavalry | Sometimes confused, "Calvary" refers to the hill where Jesus Christ was crucified, while "cavalry" means mounted troops. |
candidate | Sometimes pronounced "cannidate," which is incorrect. |
carpal tunnel syndrome | Sometimes mistakenly called "carpool tunnel syndrome"; carpal means "pertaining to the wrist"—it has nothing to do with cars. |
chaos | Always use a hard c sound; "chay-oss" and "shay-oss" are incorrect. |
clothes | Be sure to pronounce the "th" sound in this word. |
cornet/coronet | A "cornet" is a type of brass instrument, whereas a "coronet" is a small crown. |
dilate | Pronounced "dye-late," not "dye-uh-late." It may feel natural to add an extra syllable to this word, but it's incorrect to do so. |
diphtheria | The h after the p creates a soft consonant sound, not a hard one. Therefore, it is pronounced "dif-ther-i-ya." |
dog-eat-dog world | Sometimes mistakenly pronounced "doggy dog world." This phrase is about harsh competition—dogs eating dogs—not dogs just being themselves. |
drown | Some people tend to say "drowned" even when using the word in the present tense. Only pronounce the second d if you are speaking in the past tense. |
electoral | This word does not contain an i, so don't say "electorial." |
escape | Some people pronounce it as "excape." There is no x in this word, so use an s sound instead. |
especially | Some people seem to instinctively insert an x in this word, making it "expecially," which is incorrect. |
espresso | The word "express" leads people to expect an x in the name of this strong beverage, but it's "espresso," not "expresso." |
et cetera | There is no x in "et cetera," so don't pronounce it as "excetera." |
February | "Feb-you-ary" is near ubiquitous, but it's actually more correct to pronounce the r ("feb-ru-ary"). |
federal | Pronouned "fed-er-al," not "fed-ral." |
film | The combination of l and m feels like it should create an extra syllable, but it doesn't. |
fiscal | This word has two syllables; don't pronounce it like "physical." |
foliage | The i comes after the l; therefore, it is pronounced "foh-lee-age," not "foy-ull-age." |
for all intents and purposes | This phrase is often mistaken for "for all intensive purposes." |
forte | This word is pronounced "for-tay"; the e is not silent. |
foyer | In American English, it's fine to say "foy-er"—you don't need to use the French-style "foy-ay." |
height | Some people pronounce this word as "heighth," rhyming it with "width,” which is incorrect. |
heinous | Pronounced "hay-nus," not "hee-nus." |
hierarchy | It's natural to want to contract words, but correctly pronounced this has four syllables ("hai-err-ar-key"), not two ("hai-ar-key"). |
larvae | “Lar-vee” is the correct pronunciation, not “lar-vay.” |
larynx | Pronounced "lare-inks," not "lare-nicks." Don't reverse the y and n in this word. |
lease | Some people pronounce it the same way as "leash," which has a different meaning. |
liable | Be sure to pronounce the a in "liable"; omitting it results in the word "libel," which means something different. |
library | Make sure to pronounce the first r in this word. Many people miss it. |
masonry | This word has three syllables: "ma-son-ry," not "ma-son-a-ry." |
mayonnaise | Resist the temptation to contract it to "man-naise." |
mischievous | Pronounced “mis-chiv-us” rather than “mis-cheev-ee-us.” |
moot | Some people want to say "mute" but this word is pronounced like it is spelled. |
niche | Say "neesh" rather than "nitch." |
nuclear | "Noo-kyul-er" is a common mispronunciation; “noo-klee-ur” is correct. |
often | The t in this word is silent. |
ordnance | Some people pronounce it as "ordinance," which completely changes the meaning. |
percolate | The second vowel in the word is an o, not u, so "per-kyu-late" is an incorrect pronunciation. |
peremptory | Often confused with "preemptory," the two words are pronounced differently and have distinct meanings. |
perspire | This is sometimes incorrectly pronounced "prespire." |
picture | Make sure you pronounce the c in this word. Many people don't. |
pollute | Resist the temptation to contract this word to "plute"—it sounds lazy. |
potable | Sometimes mistakenly pronounced "pottable," the correct spelling and pronunciation have a single rather than double t, creating a long o sound. |
prerogative | Be careful not to omit the first r when pronouncing this word. |
prescription | Use "pruh-scrip-shun" rather than the common mispronunciation "per-scrip-shun." |
probably | The correct pronunciation is "prob-ab-lee," not "prob-lee." |
pronunciation | The second o from "pronounce" is dropped in "pronunciation," both when spelled and spoken. |
prostate | Be sure to say "pros-tate," not "pros-trate," which is a whole different word. |
quinoa | Pronounced "keen-wah," not "kin-oh-ah." |
relevant | "Revelant" is incorrect. Be careful not to reverse the consonant sounds in this word. |
sherbet | There’s no second r to make the word "sherbert," so use a short e in the second syllable. |
suite | Pronounced "sweet" rather than "soo-t." |
supposedly | Sometimes pronounced as "supposably," which means “able to be supposed." Don't confuse the two words with different meanings. |
tact | Many people tend to pronounce this word as "tack," which has different meanings. |
tenterhooks | Some people pronounce it as "tenderhooks." Tenterhooks are not tender, so be sure to pronounce the t. |
triathlon | This word has only three syllables, not four; it's "tri-ath-lon," not "tri-ath-a-lon." |
utmost | Be sure to say "ut-most," not "up-most." |
verbiage | Pronounced "ver-bee-age," not "ver-bage." Make sure to pronounce the i in this word. |
voluptuous | Pronouncing the word as "volumptuous" is incorrect. |
Wednesday | This word only has two syllables: "wenz-dey," not "wed-ners-dey." |
zoology | Pronounced "zoh-ol-uh-jee" or "zu-ol-uh-jee," not "zoo-loh-jee." |