1. Arthitis
   Arthritis
2. Athritis
   Erthitis

Arthritis is an inflammation of the joints. People think of the elderly when they think of arthritis, but it can present during "prime age" if an infection or autoimmune dysfunction is at play. If you have joint pain that doesn't resolve promptly, see a doctor!

1. Attitude
   Atitued
2. Additude
   Aditude

"Attitude" in general refers to one's emotional mindset and approach to something (for example, a task). But in the 1980s, it gained an alternate meaning: "having an attitude" always meant a bad one. The prior, adjective-dependent meaning didn't disappear, but having a stand-alone "attitude" is not a good thing.

1. Adiction
   Addiction
2. Adiktion
   Adicion

Addiction is probably as old as humankind. But the A word for it has become very popular in recent decades, giving rise to the informal terms "addictionology" and "addictionologist" (celebrity psychiatrist Dr. Drew Pinsky is often defined this way).

1. Their abod
   Their abode
2. Their abbode
   Their aboed

This word means "a home or dwelling." You might have heard the phrase, "Welcome to my humble abode." Or, as hack comedians sometimes say, "my humble commode." (Sorry!)

1. Adequate
   Adecuate
2. Adecaut
   Adequat

"Adequate" is perhaps our favorite word in this quiz, because it's so easy to define: "good enough" is good enough. The dictionary adds synonyms like "satisfactory" and "sufficient," which you might throw in for variety if you're dealing with quite a few adequate people (they are everywhere!).

1. An application
   An applikation
2. An aplication
   An apliccation

This noun has several meanings: a computer program, a request for a job, a dose of a cream or ointment ... But our favorite, perhaps, is the antiquated one Mary Shelley uses repeatedly in "Frankenstein." Victor Frankenstein says he has "the gift of application," by which he means initiative or "self-starterhood."

1. Advensur
   Adventure
2. Advennture
   Addventur

This word is derived from the Latin words "ad" meaning "to, toward" and "venire," for "come," which sounds rather simple in comparison to what the word "adventure" suggests to us. The element of risk or thrill is evidently a recent development, or just arriving at work would be an "adventure"!

1. Addverb
   Adverb
2. Addwerb
   Addverbe

Adverbs are an essential part of a writer's toolbox, like the other seven parts of speech. They get a bad rap because of the tendency of certain adverbs to go platinum, like "totally" in the '80s and "super" today. Hence the rise of "adverb shaming" by people who say they "almost never use adverbs."

1. Abollish
   Abolish
2. Abbolish
   Abollesh

"Abolish" is often used in legal or legislative contexts. "Abolition," the noun form, is the standard term used for America's outlawing of slavery in the mid-19th-century. Just prior to that was a time when America had a number of "abolitionist" newspapers, which carried the news, but with a strong anti-slavery editorial slant.

1. Alltitude
   Alitude
2. Altitude
   Altitued

"Altitude" refers to a plane's (or other craft's) distance from the ground. Mountain peaks also have altitude, in which case it is defined as distance from sea level. Everest, for example, has an altitude of about 29,000 feet -- high enough to require most climbers to use oxygen.

1. Abridged
   Abriddged
2. Abbridged
   Abbrijed

"Abridged" and "unabridged" are common terms in publishing. Audiobooks are often abridged, in order not to create hours upon hours of listening time. For people stationed in Antarctica, or manning fire-lookout towers, there are usually unabridged versions as well.

1. Absalute
   Absolute
2. Abbsilute
   Absilute

Your first thought might have been that the opposite of "relative" is "stranger." But we're using the adjective form: "absolute" is total and can't be argued with; "relative" is flexible. You find this usage often in mathematics and in philosophy.

1. Akwatic
   Awkwatic
2. Aquatic
   Aquatick

This word comes, of course, from the Latin for water, or "aqua." It is often used in biology, to describe plants and animals which live in bodies of water: oceans, seas, lakes and similar.

1. Errial
   Arrial
2. Arial
   Aerial

Fun fact: While "aerial" is pronounced with three syllables in most contexts -- "aerial" surveillance -- the preferred pronunciation in literary contexts. In a poem, for example, the meter might be thrown off if the reader doesn't use all four syllables.

1. An acquintance
   An acquaintance
2. An ackwaintance
   An akwaintance

"Acquaintance" describes someone with whom you have a surface relationship -- they are not a friend, enemy, colleague, etc. Whenever we hear the word, we think of Peggy Hill, on "King of the Hill," winning a Boggle tournament with the word "acquaintanceship."

1. Advent
   Addvent
2. Advint
   Abvent

Observant Christians might know this one from the season of Advent on the ecclesiastical calendar. This is the season building up to Christmas, the day that marks off the coming of Christ to the world as a human being. Some of us just know this usage from advent calendars or advent wreaths, sometimes made at church craft fairs.

1. Ansestors
   Ansesstors
2. Ancesstors
   Ancestors

"Ancestors" is the word you default to when you don't want to use multiple "greats" or don't know how many "greats" would apply. In fact, the longer we look at the word "forebears," the weirder it appears to us ... we're voting for the use of "ancestors" across the board.

1. Affront
   Afront
2. Afronte
   Afrunt

You sometimes hear this word used in its adjective form, "affronted." Or as "an affront to common decency," a term that comes up in essays and op-ed pieces -- more and more often since 2016. (We won't speculate on why).

1. Agendae
   Agennda
2. Ajenda
   Agenda

Meetings usually have "agendas." Fun fact: Traditionally, "agenda" was plural; the singular was "agendum." But this has fallen out of favor so much that using "agenda" as a plural would now be considered wrong.

1. Acomplis
   Accomplice
2. Accomlice
   Accomplish

An "accomplice" is someone who aids another in the commission of a crime. True, "accomplish" is correctly spelled, but it's an entirely different word, meaning "to achieve or satisfy." Better to "accomplish" than to be an "accomplice."

1. Aimeless
   Aimless
2. Aymeless
   Ayemless

Naturally, the root word here is "aim," in its meaning of "intention" or "plan." "Aimless" is a word that was put into use a lot in articles about Generation X in their youth, reflecting a lack of ambition or life direction.

1. Aggriculture
   Agriculture
2. Agroculture
   Agraculture

You're probably not surprised to learn that this one comes from Latin. The Latin word for field or land is "ager," and "cultura" is "cultivation." Agricultural science is an increasingly popular subject at universities -- compared to decades past, it is increasingly common for a farmer to have a degree in this, uh, field.

1. Agressive
   Aggresive
2. Agresive
   Aggressive

"Aggressive" is a term frequently applied to animals: "All tigers, even in captivity, should be seen as aggressive." The verb form, "agress," has gained favor in dog-rescue circles and at parks: "Your dog aggressed on mine."

1. Allbatross
   Albattros
2. Albatros
   Albatross

The albatross is a web-footed seabird with a wide wingspan. It was made famous by the Samuel Taylor Coleridge poem "Rime of the Ancient Mariner," in which a sailor's entire ship and crew are punished for his murder of an albatross.

1. Arrowdynamic
   Aerodynamic
2. Airodynamic
   Airodynammic

Aerodynamic design is essential in the world of auto racing. In retail/production cars, aerodynamic design goes in and out of style -- the '90s and 2000s saw a boom in boxy cars, despite the lower gas mileage. It's fashion!

1. Apease
   Appease
2. Apeace
   Apeaze

A popular use of this word has to do with guilt: "I was trying to appease my conscience." In popular psychology, too, an appeaser is someone who gives in too much (for example, to bullies), often out of fear of getting hurt or verbally browbeaten.

1. Affidavite
   Afidavit
2. Affidavit
   Affidavitt

An affidavit is a sworn oath, almost always in writing. The oath can cover a variety of legal subjects; there's no one field to which it is particularly applicable. Be warned, too: To lie in an affidavit is a prosecutable offense.

1. Activety
   Actifity
2. Aktivity
   Activity

"Activity" is a word that's often used, but is tricky to spell. It's also a particularly broad word in its application: It can be used about exercise, criminal endeavors, events in assisted-living facilities ... the list goes on and on.

1. Aliment
   Aylement
2. Aylment
   Ailment

An "ailment" is an illness. You'll often hear the verb form when people say a certain remedy is "good for what ails you." One of the other choices, "aliment," is correctly spelled -- but it means something edible, a form of nutrition.

1. Aligator
   Aligattor
2. Alligator
   Alegator

Alligators have U-shaped snouts, while crocodiles' are V-shaped. And alligators prefer freshwater habitats to saltwater, that of crocodiles. Who knew you'd learn some animal science from a spelling quiz? (Thanks to the Live Science website for these facts).

1. Alpathic
   Allpathic
2. Allapathic
   Allopathic

Samuel Hahnemann coined the term "allopathy" for evidence-based medicine. This was in the early 19th century, the same time that he created the entire system of homeopathy. Users of homeopathic medicines might tell you that these terms are about as old as medicine itself, but that's just not true.

1. Alakrity
   Alakrety
2. Alacrety
   Alacrity

"Alacrity" usually refers to promptness, or haste in getting something done. It has a secondary meaning, or connotation, of cheerfulness in performing a task. So if your boss said you did something "with alacrity," good news: It's likely he or she is pleased.

1. Annthropology
   Anthropaulogy
2. Anthropology
   Anthropologie

Merriam-Webster goes further, calling it "the study of human beings and their ancestors through time and space, and in relation to physical character, environment and social relations." Wow! Also, we apologize for sneaking in "Anthropologie," the clothing and home decor store!

1. Adep
   Adepp
2. Adept
   Adepped

"Adept" is a great synonym for "highly skilled," and -- we think -- too rarely used. (So is "adroit," which would have made a good addition to this quiz). "Adept" can also be a noun form: "An adept at home repair." This, however, is a less-common use.

1. Alectryomancy
   Alectriomancy
2. Alectromancy
   That's not a thing!

Don't worry; we didn't seriously expect you to know this one. But once we learned that "alectryomancy" was really a thing, we felt the need to share this rare word with you. The ancients believed some weird stuff!