People have been sharing the spellings that make absolutely no sense – 19 funniest and especially relatable suggestions
With a history going all the way back to 1831, Merriam-Webster is America’s most authoritative everyday dictionary. They’re also very engaged on social media, where their fascinating ‘Word of the Day’ posts invariably gain a lot of traction.
When it comes to words, they certainly know their stuff.
In a recent Twitter post they asked their followers a simple question, which generated a lot of replies. It’s a great read.
What word’s spelling makes absolutely no sense?
We can take it.
— Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) July 21, 2026
The linguistic bugbears came flooding in.
1.
gotta be colonel
— Bud (@JoesProce) July 21, 2026
2.
Segue
— Mintaro Oba (@mintaro064) July 21, 2026
3.
palindrome
It is not a palindrome.
— mel (she/her) (@mangotemu344) July 21, 2026
4.
wednesday. i still whisper wed-nes-day to myself before i type it every single time
— Noah (@noahstillmad) July 21, 2026
5.
Queue – one letter doing all the work while four others stand around is real group project energy
Worcestershire – less a word than a trap
— k@te and discontent (@716Transplant) July 21, 2026
6.
The British spelling of “hiccup.” The first time I saw “hiccough,” I thought it was one of those things where you hiccup and cough at the same time. For the life of me, I can’t figure out how “hiccough” is pronounced “hiccup”!
— Shane Killian (@shanedk) July 21, 2026
7.
Victuals.
Not the spelling…. the pronunciation!
Vittles.. Vi-tilz.
— (@SPQRSA) July 21, 2026
8.
Receipt. That random P contributes absolutely nothing.
— ዪIፈHፕHIክK (@ego_kingdom) July 22, 2026
9.
The English spelling of diarrhoea. It’s clearly lost control of its vowels.
— Joe Horan ⭐️The Ochiran Chronicles⭐️ (@JosephHoran7) July 22, 2026