A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
- Wack vs. whackWack: very bad or of dubious quality. Whack: 1. to strike; 2. a sharp blow; 3. the sound of a sharp blow; 4. to kill someone deliberately.
- Waddle vs. wattleWaddle: to walk with a duck-like gait. Wattle: 1. the fold of skin on the chins of some birds and lizards; 2. a construction of poles with twigs, reeds, or branches; 3. a genus of Australian shrub.
- Wagon vs. waggonIt is now spelled wagon everywhere.
- Waist vs. wasteWaist: the part of the body between the ribs and pelvis. Waste: 1. to use needlessly; 2. to lose energy; 3. an act of wasting; 4. a barren area.
- Waive vs. waveWaive: 1. to give up a claim or right voluntarily; 2. to refrain from enforcing something; 3. to set something aside. Wave: to move back and forth or up and down or to make a waving hand signal.
- Waiver vs. waverWaiver: 1. intentional relinquishment of a right or privilege; 2. a dispensation; 3. a deferment. Waver: 1. to move steadily back and forth; 2. to vacillate; 3. to tremble in sound.
- Wander vs. wonderWander: to move about aimlessly. Wonder: to feel curiosity, be in doubt, or admire.
- Wane, waxWane: decrease. Wax: increase.
- Wanton vs. wontonWanton: excessive or immoral. Wonton: a Chinese dumpling.
- Warrantee vs. warrantyWarranty: a guarantee covering a product. Warrantee: someone to whom a warranty is given.
- Wary vs. wearyWary: on guard or watchful. Weary: tired.
- Weaved, wove, wovenIt is usually wove in the past tense and woven as a past participle, but weaved has gained ground.
- Web site vs. websiteThe one-word form now prevails by a huge margin.
- Website vs. web pageWebsite: a collection of content grouped on a single web domain. Web page: a page of a website.
- Well-being vs. wellbeingone word outside North America; hyphenated in the U.S. and Canada.
- Well-heeledwealthy.
- Welsh1. to go back on a promise; 2. to shirk one's responsibilities.
- Wet vs. whetWet: to make wet. Whet: to sharpen or stimulate.
- Whac-A-Molea futile effort to suppress something that keeps popping up no matter how many times one tries to get rid of it.
- Whatnotunspecified assorted objects or material.
- Whence vs. from whenceThe from is unnecessary but conventional.
- Whereasalthough or while in contrast.
- While away vs. wile awayto pass time idly. While away is older and more logical, but the misspelled form is common and not considered wrong.
- Whilstwhile.
- Whingeto complain in a fretful, persistent way.
- Whiny, whiney, whinny, WhinneyWhiny: habitually whining. Whiney: a rare variant of whiny. Whinny: neigh. Whinney: only a name.
- Whiskey vs. whiskyWhisky: Scotch and Scotch-inspired liquors. Whiskey: the corresponding Irish and American liquors.
- Whiz, whizz, wizWhizz and wiz can always give way to whiz.
- Who vs. whomWho: nominative. Whom: objective.
- Who's vs. whoseWho's: who is or who has. Whose: possessive of who or which.
- Who's Whoa book, list, or collection of names of famous or noteworthy people.
- Whoever vs. whomeverWhoever: nominative. Whomever: objective.
- Whoop vs. whupWhup: whip. Whoop: a cry of exultation, a bird cry, or a coughing sound.
- Widow, widowerWidow: a woman whose spouse has died. Widower: a man whose spouse has died.
- Wilful vs. willfulwilful in the U.S.; willful everywhere else.
- Winningestsports-speak for most winning.
- Wintery vs wintryWintry is the standard spelling everywhere.
- Wit vs. whitWhit: the smallest particle. Wit: intelligence, cleverness.
- Wither vs. whitherWither: to shrivel. Whither: to what place.
- Wonkish, wonkyWonky = (1) unstable, defective, unreliable, or wobbly; (2) studiously concerned with minutiae. Wonkish = studiously concerned with minutiae.
- WontWont: accustomed.
- Woolen vs. woollenwoolen in the U.S.; woollen everywhere else.
- Workout vs. work outWorkout: noun and adjective. Work out: verb.
- Worse comes to worstif the worst possibility should occur.
- Wreak havoc (and wreaked vs. wrought)to bring about destruction. The past tense of wreak is wreaked.
- Wreath vs. wreatheWreathe: verb. Wreath: noun.
- Write-off vs. write offWrite-off: noun. Write off: verb.
- Wrong vs. wronglyWrong also works as an adverb, though it always follows the verb it modifies.
- Wunderkind1. a child prodigy; 2. someone who achieves success young.
