Misspelled or Misspelt?

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What Is the Difference between "Misspelled" and "Misspelt"?

"Misspelled" and "misspelt" are both written with a double "s." (The first "s" is from the prefix "mis," and the second is from the root word "spell.")

If you're unsure whether to use "misspelled" and "misspelt," use "misspelled."
(If you're following UK writing conventions, you can use "misspelt," but it has been less popular than "misspelled" since the mid-1970s.)

More about Misspelled and Misspelt

Somewhat ironically, the verb "to misspell" is commonly misspelled. The first point to note is that it is written with a double "s." In other words:

• mispell , mispelled , mispelt
• misspell , misspelled , misspelt

Also of note, "misspell" is one of those verbs with both an irregular form and a regular form. This means the past tense and the past participle can be written as either "misspelled" or "misspelt."

Verb	Past Simple	Past Participle
misspell	misspelled OR misspelt	misspelled OR misspelt

Americans Demand "Misspelled"

In America, "misspelled" dominates. The use of "misspelt" as the past tense or past participle of "to spell" is considered a spelling mistake by most Americans.

Brits Will Accept "Misspelled" or "Misspelt"

Outside America, "misspelled" has been more popular than "misspelt" since the mid-1970s. (Here is evidence from Google's Ngram viewer.) In the UK, both "misspelled" and "misspelt" are accepted.

Spelled and Spelt

It's the same with "spelled" and "spelt." Americans demand "spelled," but Brits will accept either.

Verbs with Irregular and Regular Forms

The following verbs (like "to spell") have both regular and irregular forms:

Verb	Past Simple	Past Participle
burn	burned OR burnt	burned OR burnt
dream	dreamed OR dreamt	dreamed OR dreamt
learn	learned OR learnt	learned OR learnt
smell	smelled OR smelt	smelled OR smelt

Read also about "hung" and "hanged."

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