The Most Commonly Misspelled Words in Each State

Pop quiz: Is “desert” a sand-filled location or a sugar-filled food? If you’re not sure, you’re not alone.

“Desert” — as in Africa’s Sahara Desert or California’s Mojave Desert — is one of the most commonly misspelled words in America, according to information shared by Google Trends Thursday night during the Scripps National Spelling Bee finals.

The information shows which Google search query that starts with “how to spell” is most common in each state.

Two words proved most troublesome:

• Residents of four states most commonly searched for the spelling of “desert“: California, Connecticut, Idaho and Indiana.
• Residents of four states also most commonly searched for the spelling of “cancelled“: Maryland, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Virginia.

Residents of three states most commonly searched for the spelling of:

• “Gray“: Michigan, Oklahoma and South Dakota
• “Pneumonia“: Missouri, North Carolina and Washington
• “Vacuum“: Maine, Montana and Wisconsin

Residents of two states most commonly searched for the spelling of:

• “Appreciate“: Georgia and Illinois
• “Beautiful“: Colorado and New York
• “Definitely“: Louisiana and Oregon
• “Diarrhea“: Arizona and New Hampshire
• “Leprechaun“: Arkansas and Utah
• “Maintenance“: Iowa and Kentucky
• “Neighbor“: Delaware and New Mexico

For the spellings that most frequently tripped up residents of the remaining states — which include the word “Massachusetts” in the state of Massachusetts — check out Google Trend’s Twitter page.

Which word gives you fits when trying to spell it? Share your thoughts with us below or on Facebook.