Spelling Test Questions and Answers

Answer: C

It is cannibal.

Two n's, one l, no final e. The word comes from Caniba, a form of Carib, the West Indian people the Spanish accused of the practice.

Answer: C

Correct answer: Supersede

The correct spelling is supersede, with an s in the second half - not a c. It is the only English word ending in -sede. The confusion arises because the far commoner ending is -cede: precede, recede, concede, intercede, accede and secede all take it, and by analogy supercede looks right. The reason for the difference is that supersede comes from the Latin sedere, to sit - to supersede is literally to sit above - whereas the -cede words come from cedere, to go or yield. Two different roots, two different spellings. Three further words end in -ceed rather than -cede: proceed, exceed and succeed. Those three, plus supersede, are the entire set of exceptions to -cede, and are worth memorising as such.

Answer: C

It is iniquitous.

From iniquity, the Latin in and aequus, unequal or unjust. The word is not built on inequity, though the two are related.

Answer: D

It is accessary.

Two c's and two s's. Accessary is the older spelling used in law of a person who aids a crime; accessory is the usual form for a thing added.

Answer: A

It is lieutenant.

From the French lieu tenant, place-holding - one holding a post in another's stead. The ie comes first, and the British pronunciation leftenant gives no help with the spelling.

Answer: B

It is incipient.

From the Latin incipere, to begin. The ending is -ient, and the first vowel is an i, not an e.

Answer: C

It is annihilation.

Two n's, then -hil-: the word is from the Latin ad nihil, to nothing, and the h is easily dropped in writing.

Answer: C

It is luscious.

One s before the -cious. The word is probably a shortening of delicious.

Answer: A

Meaning: Reindeer means a deer of the tundra and subarctic regions of Eurasia and North America, both sexes of which have large branching antlers. Most Eurasian reindeer are domesticated and used for drawing sledges and as a source of milk, flesh, and hide.

Answer: A

It is orphanage.

One n. The suffix -age is added to orphan whole, as in patronage and parsonage.