Word list
Nine words, seventy ways of hearing them
Small on purpose. Every word here fails the same test in a different way: you can say it perfectly and still have no idea where the letters go.
By section
Outlines and tips
Three words that describe a silhouette. All three end in the Latin -atus, which English hears as a flat -ate and spells any number of ways.
- lanceolate LAN-see-uh-layt 7
- cuneate KYOO-nee-ayt 8
- acuminate uh-KYOO-min-ut 7
Margins and veins
Edge and vein words. Two of the three hang a soft consonant in the middle of the word, which is where the spelling goes wrong.
- laciniate luh-SIN-ee-ut 9
- emarginate ee-MAR-jin-ut 11
- reticulate ri-TIK-yuu-lut 11
Surface and texture
Touch words. Their endings are the trouble: -ous, -ceous and -escent all say something a long way from how they look.
- glaucous GLAW-kus 6
- coriaceous ko-ree-AY-shus 6
- pubescent pyoo-BESS-unt 5