What's the Most Misspelled Word in Vermont?

The most misspelled word in Vermont for 2025 is "Definitely."

The Data: Why "Definitely"?

The findings, drawn from an analysis of Google Trends "how to spell" queries, show that Vermont residents frequently turn to search engines to double-check this common adverb. While it seems simple, "definitely" is notoriously tricky for English speakers across the globe, not just in New England.

Linguists point to a specific phonetic trap:

• The Vowel Swap: The most common error is spelling it as "Definately." This happens because the schwa sound (the unstressed "uh" sound) in the second syllable makes the "i" sound identical to an "a."

  
  
  

• The Root Word: The trick, experts say, is to remember the root word "finite." If you remove the prefix de- and the suffix -ly, you are left with finite, which clearly contains two "i"s and no "a" in the middle.

Past Offenders: A History of Vermont's Spelling Woes

Vermont has a colorful history of spelling searches. In previous years, the top words have ranged from the medical to the whimsical:

• "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious": In a 2022 Mental Floss study, Vermont stood out as the only state obsessed with spelling the famous Mary Poppins word. It remains unclear why this specific term spiked so heavily in Vermont search data compared to the rest of the U.S.

• "Coronavirus": Like much of the country, Vermont saw "Coronavirus" top the list in 2020 and 2021, often misspelled with an "a" as "Caronavirus."

• "Europe": In 2017, Google Trends data famously showed that Vermont’s top spelling search was simply "Europe," a surprising struggle for a state with such high educational standards.

Regional Comparison: How Do Neighbors Fare?

Vermont isn't alone in struggling with "everyday" vocabulary. The 2025 data highlights a trend of simple words confusing New Englanders:

• New Hampshire: Struggles most with "Amateur" (often swapping the eu).

• Maine: Surprisingly, the top search was "Almost" (often misspelled as allmost).