misspelled

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "misspelled" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used when referring to a word that has been spelled incorrectly. Example: "The word 'definately' is misspelled; the correct spelling is 'definitely.'"

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Encyclopedias

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

60 human-written examples

Both were written in similar block letters, and the word "Beverly" was misspelled as "Beverley" in both cases.

The Guardian

In an earlier version, Kirsty Wark's surname was misspelled as Walk in a picture caption.

The Guardian

An earlier version of the article referred to it as "the agitprop theatre group", misspelled the name of its director as Martin Gulyas, and said incorrectly that it had "lost its Norwegian funding".

The Guardian

An earlier version referred to Birmingham City's star man as Tom Adeyemi, now transferred to Cardiff, and misspelled Hayden Mullins's name as Hayden Kummins.

The Guardian - Sport

It originally misspelled Christoph Waltz's name as Christopher Waltz.

The Guardian - Opinion

It points out that Mr Braley has misspelled the farming words "detasseling" and "baling", and is now offering free bumper-stickers that read: "Sorry Bruce Braley, I'm proud to be a farmer".

The Economist

Correction: A previous version of this article misspelled CloudFlare as "CloudFare".

The Economist

Investors increasingly appreciate the reputational benefits of openness, and employees want to work for firms that are leaders in disclosure and, just as importantly, ever more of them appear to see it as their civic duty to leak information if their employer is shady and secretive.Correction: A previous version of this article misspelled the name of Chris Taggart of OpenCorporates.

The Economist

Our piece in the same issue on "Sin-free ale" misspelled the name of Aujan, a brewer.

The Economist

The author, who was fired by Mr Turner in 1982, is out for revenge not least, one suspects, because he rarely gets much public credit for his role (at CNN's 20th anniversary party his name was misspelled on his ID badge).

The Economist

In our article on Dynegy last week ("Power struggle"), we misspelled the name of Julien Dumoulin-Smith of UBS, for which we apologise.

The Economist

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Use "misspelled" to directly address spelling errors, maintaining a professional tone in corrections.

Common error

Avoid using "misspelled" interchangeably with terms like "typo" or "grammatical error". "Misspelled" specifically refers to incorrect spelling, while typos are usually unintentional errors made while typing, and grammatical errors involve incorrect sentence structure.

Linguistic Context

The primary grammatical function of "misspelled" is a verb form, specifically the past tense and past participle of "misspell". It describes the action of spelling something incorrectly, indicating a state of being incorrectly written as shown by Ludwig.

Expression frequency: Very common

Frequent in

News & Media

67%

Encyclopedias

8%

Reference

8%

Less common in

Formal & Business

3%

Science

3%

Wiki

3%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, "misspelled" is a commonly used verb form indicating that something has been spelled incorrectly. Ludwig AI confirms that it is grammatically sound and frequently appears in news and media, as well as encyclopedic contexts. When aiming for clarity, indicate both the "misspelled" form and the correction. Alternatives include "spelled incorrectly" or "spelled erroneously" depending on the level of formality. Be careful not to confuse it with typos or grammatical errors for accurate writing.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

spelled incorrectly

Focuses on the act of spelling being wrong, without necessarily implying it was unintentional.

incorrectly spelled

Highlights the incorrect nature of the spelling, similar to "spelled incorrectly" but with a slightly different word order.

improperly spelled

Similar to 'spelled incorrectly', suggesting the spelling does not adhere to standard rules.

spelled erroneously

Emphasizes the presence of error in the spelling, often used in formal contexts.

contained a spelling mistake

Indicates the presence of a spelling error within a text or word.

badly spelled

Indicates a poor quality of spelling, often implying multiple or significant errors.

faulty spelling

Highlights that the spelling has errors; more formal than "badly spelled".

spelling error occurred

States that an error in spelling happened, more formal and descriptive.

orthographically incorrect

Uses technical terminology to describe the spelling error; very formal and precise.

written with a mistake

Broadly indicates a mistake in writing, which could include spelling, but also other errors.

FAQs

How do I use "misspelled" in a sentence?

You can use "misspelled" to indicate that a word is not spelled correctly. For example, "The word 'separate' is often "misspelled" as 'seperate'".

What's the difference between "misspelled" and "spelled incorrectly"?

Both phrases mean the same thing: that a word has been written with the wrong letters. "Misspelled" is a single word, while "spelled incorrectly" is a phrase. They are generally interchangeable, though "spelled incorrectly" might be preferred in very formal contexts.

Which is correct, "misspelled" or "spelled wrong"?

"Misspelled" is the more formal and generally preferred term. "Spelled wrong" is grammatically correct but considered more informal. In academic or professional writing, "misspelled" or "spelled incorrectly" are better choices.

What can I say instead of "misspelled"?

Depending on the context, you can use alternatives such as "spelled erroneously", "incorrectly spelled", or "contained a spelling mistake".