• 120 words
  • Checked October 2026

Words With Weird Spelling

Weird spelling words in twelve lists: hear each one in a sentence, type it, and see what you missed.

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For a sentence, put it after a colon: rain: The rain fell all day. Up to 40 words.

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List 1: said nothing like they look

Words to learn. Read each word, cover it, write it, then check it.

  1. 1.colonelThe colonel ranks above a lieutenant colonel.
  2. 2.queueA long queue of cars waited at the gate.
  3. 3.yachtThey sailed the yacht for pleasure.
  4. 4.choirThe choir of singers filled the stage.
  5. 5.quayThe boat unloaded its cargo at the quay.
  6. 6.indictThe jury voted to indict, or formally charge, him.
  7. 7.sergeantThe sergeant ranks above a corporal.
  8. 8.victualsThe sailors stored victuals, their food supplies, below deck.
  9. 9.solderShe used solder to join the two wires.
  10. 10.quinoaWe cooked quinoa, the seeds of an Andes plant.

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All 120 words

List 1: said nothing like they look 10

  • choir The choir of singers filled the stage.
  • colonel The colonel ranks above a lieutenant colonel.
  • indict The jury voted to indict, or formally charge, him.
  • quay The boat unloaded its cargo at the quay.
  • queue A long queue of cars waited at the gate.
  • quinoa We cooked quinoa, the seeds of an Andes plant.
  • sergeant The sergeant ranks above a corporal.
  • solder She used solder to join the two wires.
  • victuals The sailors stored victuals, their food supplies, below deck.
  • yacht They sailed the yacht for pleasure.

List 2: a silent first letter 10

  • cnidarian A jellyfish is a cnidarian with stinging cells.
  • gneiss Gneiss is a banded metamorphic rock.
  • gnome The gnome in the tale guarded buried treasure.
  • gnu A gnu is a large African antelope.
  • mnemonic A mnemonic, like a rhyme, aids the memory.
  • pseudonym A pseudonym is a made-up pen name.
  • pshaw She said pshaw because she doubted the story.
  • ptarmigan A ptarmigan is a grouse with feathered feet.
  • pterodactyl A pterodactyl was a flying reptile, now extinct.
  • wraith The wraith in the story was a ghost.

List 3: ough, said six ways 10

  • borough Each borough of the city has a library.
  • bough The swing hung from a sturdy bough.
  • cough A loud cough echoed in the quiet hall.
  • enough Is there enough paint for one more wall?
  • thorough He gave the attic a thorough cleaning.
  • though The soup was good, though a little salty.
  • thought She thought hard before she answered.
  • through A cold wind blew through the open door.
  • tough The tough rope held the heavy load.
  • trough Rain filled the horses' water trough.

List 4: odd runs of letters 10

  • aardvark The aardvark dug for ants with its claws.
  • axolotl An axolotl is a salamander that keeps its gills.
  • bookkeeper The bookkeeper recorded every sale the shop made.
  • facetious Her facetious remark was only a joke.
  • rhythm We clapped along to the rhythm of the song.
  • savvy A savvy shopper knows a fair price.
  • sequoia A sequoia tree towered over the cabin.
  • skiing We went skiing down the snowy slope.
  • strengths Drawing and math are her two strengths.
  • vacuum A vacuum is a space empty of matter.

List 5: words for a fuss 10

  • ballyhoo The ballyhoo outside was noisy shouting and uproar.
  • brouhaha The brouhaha was an uproar heard down the street.
  • fracas The fracas was a noisy quarrel over the ball.
  • hoopla The parade brought hoopla, a merry commotion.
  • hubbub The hubbub of the crowd drowned out her voice.
  • kerfuffle The kerfuffle was a fuss over one lost sock.
  • pandemonium Pandemonium is noisy confusion, like a gym at recess.
  • ruckus The dogs caused a ruckus, a noisy disturbance.
  • ruction A ruction is a loud, unruly quarrel.
  • to-do They made a big to-do, or fuss, about nothing.

List 6: words for nonsense 10

  • balderdash That tall tale is balderdash, plain nonsense.
  • codswallop In Britain, codswallop is a word for rubbish.
  • fiddle-faddle Fiddle-faddle is one more word for nonsense.
  • flummery The speech was flummery, words that meant nothing.
  • gibberish The baby babbled gibberish nobody could understand.
  • hogwash His excuse was hogwash, false and silly talk.
  • piffle She called the rumor piffle, just foolish talk.
  • poppycock Poppycock means talk that makes no sense.
  • tommyrot Grandpa calls utter foolishness tommyrot.
  • twaddle Twaddle is foolish, idle chatter.

List 7: to trick or baffle 10

  • bamboozle A fake map can bamboozle, or fool, a pirate.
  • befuddle Long directions befuddle me until I cannot think.
  • boggle Numbers that large make the mind boggle.
  • bumfuzzle Those twisty rules bumfuzzle, or confuse, new players.
  • discombobulate Loud alarms discombobulate, or confuse, the sleepy cat.
  • flabbergast Her card tricks flabbergast, or astound, the crowd.
  • flimflam The flimflam was a swindle with fake tickets.
  • flummox Riddles flummox, or puzzle, even clever people.
  • hoodwink The fox tried to hoodwink the crow with flattery.
  • hornswoggle To hornswoggle someone is to deceive them.

List 8: to come and go 10

  • absquatulate The raccoons absquatulate, or hurry off, at dawn.
  • cavort Lambs cavort, prancing about the spring meadow.
  • dilly-dally Do not dilly-dally, or waste time, on the stairs.
  • galumph The big puppies galumph clumsily across the yard.
  • hightail The rabbits hightail it, fleeing as fast as possible.
  • hotfoot We must hotfoot it, or hurry, to class.
  • mosey We mosey, or stroll slowly, down to the pond.
  • skedaddle Crabs skedaddle, or flee, when a shadow passes.
  • traipse Tourists traipse, or tramp about, from shop to shop.
  • vamoose Time to vamoose, or leave in a hurry.

List 9: rhyming pairs with a hyphen 10

  • harum-scarum The harum-scarum rider raced recklessly downhill.
  • helter-skelter Papers flew helter-skelter, in hurried disorder.
  • higgledy-piggledy Shoes lay higgledy-piggledy, in a jumbled heap.
  • hocus-pocus The magician said hocus-pocus and waved her wand.
  • hoity-toity The hoity-toity duke acted pompous and self-important.
  • hurly-burly The hurly-burly of the market was noisy confusion.
  • nitty-gritty The nitty-gritty is the practical detail of a job.
  • okey-dokey She answered okey-dokey, a playful way to say OK.
  • razzle-dazzle The halftime show was razzle-dazzle, a showy display.
  • willy-nilly He stacked the books willy-nilly, without any plan.

List 10: echo words written as one 10

  • chitchat Their chitchat was light, casual small talk.
  • crisscross Tire tracks crisscross the field in crossing lines.
  • hodgepodge The stew was a hodgepodge, a jumble of leftovers.
  • mishmash The drawer held a mishmash of unrelated things.
  • seesaw Two kids balanced on the playground seesaw.
  • singsong He read the poem in a singsong voice.
  • ticktock The ticktock of the clock kept me awake.
  • tiptop The bike is in tiptop, first-rate shape.
  • wigwag The dog's tail began to wigwag back and forth.
  • zigzag The path made a zigzag of sharp turns.

List 11: things with funny names 10

  • bric-a-brac The cabinet of bric-a-brac held small old ornaments.
  • bumbershoot Open your bumbershoot, or umbrella, in the rain.
  • doodad A doodad is a gadget whose name you forgot.
  • doohickey The doohickey is a small part I cannot name.
  • humdinger That blizzard was a humdinger, truly remarkable.
  • jalopy The jalopy was an old, rattling car.
  • smithereens The dropped plate broke into smithereens, tiny bits.
  • squeegee A squeegee wipes water off a wet window.
  • whatchamacallit Pass me the whatchamacallit whose name I forgot.
  • whatnot The shelf held shells, stones and whatnot.

List 12: long describing words 10

  • cantankerous The cantankerous goat was ill-tempered and quarrelsome.
  • gobsmacked We were gobsmacked, utterly astounded, by the news.
  • hunky-dory Everything is hunky-dory, perfectly fine.
  • lackadaisical His lackadaisical effort showed little care.
  • obstreperous The obstreperous crowd grew noisy and unruly.
  • persnickety The persnickety editor fussed over every tiny detail.
  • rambunctious The rambunctious puppies were noisy and disorderly.
  • sesquipedalian Sesquipedalian describes someone who uses long words.
  • topsy-turvy The wind left the tent topsy-turvy, upside down.
  • wishy-washy A wishy-washy answer never settles on yes or no.

How it works

English writes colonel with an l it says as r, and queue sounds just like its first letter. These 120 words run from spellings like those to funny words such as kerfuffle and bamboozle. Every sentence shows the meaning.

Read the full guide

Weird words to spell in English, by what makes them odd

Lists 1 to 4 are words with unusual spellings, where the letters do not match the sound: colonel and yacht, a silent first letter (gnome, pterodactyl, pshaw), ough said six ways from though to thought, and odd runs of letters such as the double a of aardvark. Lists 5 to 12 are funny words: a fuss (kerfuffle), nonsense (poppycock), tricks (bamboozle), comings and goings (skedaddle), rhyming pairs, echo words, things (doohickey) and long describing words (persnickety).

Silly spelling words: hyphen or no hyphen

Every rhyming pair in List 9 takes a hyphen: hocus-pocus, willy-nilly, okey-dokey. The echo words of List 10 are written as one: zigzag, seesaw, tiptop. The test follows the American Heritage Dictionary, so a missing or added hyphen is marked wrong.

  • Facetious holds a, e, i, o and u once each, in order. Rhythm has none of the five.
  • Bumbershoot joins altered forms of umbrella and parachute; whatchamacallit is what you may call it, run together.
  • Ruckus may be a blend of ruction and rumpus. Ruckus and ruction are both in List 5.

Questions and answers

What are the weirdest words to spell?

Nobody ranks them. On this page try colonel (said like kernel), quay (said like key), gneiss (said like nice), cnidarian with its silent c, and higgledy-piggledy, the longest here at 16 letters and a hyphen.

What are some funny spelling words?

Lists 5 to 8 hold forty: kerfuffle and brouhaha for a fuss, poppycock and codswallop for nonsense, bamboozle and hornswoggle for a trick, skedaddle and absquatulate for leaving in a hurry.

Why does English have words with strange spellings?

Many were borrowed. The American Heritage Dictionary traces colonel to Old Italian colonello by way of French, yacht probably to an old Norwegian jagt, queue to the French for tail, and quinoa to Quechua kinwa by way of Spanish.

Are these unusual words to spell real words?

Yes. Each is in the American Heritage Dictionary with this one spelling, absquatulate and bumfuzzle included. Words with two accepted spellings, such as hullabaloo, gobbledygook and lollygag, were left out, because the test marks one spelling.

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