Using words incorrectly is part of being an English speaker. Differentiating the use for "their, "there" and "they're" can trip up even the most devoted grammar lover. And another tricky thing about the English language is properly pronouncing words.
There's something about hearing mispronounced words that gets the gears grinding. And some words are more commonly mispronounced more than others—somehow becoming commonplace in our everyday language.
Mispronouncing words or phrases irks many people, and in a popular online forum, member @Wonderful-Economy762 posed this question about mispronounced words: "What is one word that people wrongly pronounce that makes your brain just wanna jump a cliff?" And its fellow members did not hold back.
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Everyone has that one word that drives them nuts
Many shared their feelings about how it feels when they hear people mispronouncing them:
"My rage bubbled up faster than expected reading this," one wrote.
Another added, "Oh man, nails on a chalkboard. I instantly make unfair assumptions about the person who says this."
And another quipped, "Does it count if I do it on purpose to be obnoxious sometimes?"
These are 40 words that are commonly mispronounced that received a passionate mention–with many pointing out how to properly pronounce them.
40 mispronounced words people just can’t stand
"Supposably. When a grown adult says 'Supposably' to mean 'supposedly', they sound like a petulant infant who just threw their broccoli off of their high chair onto the ground." —@s7o0a0p
"Lie-berry." —@DixonHerbox
"Exspecially." —@iamhere-2
"eXpresso." —@Turbulent_Gene7017
"On accident. (You don’t say you did something on accident. You did something by accident." —@Throwaway7219017, @_incredigirl_
@justintimberlake #stitch with @umgabi It’s gonna be…
"'I could care less.' It's "I couldn't care less" which means you could NOT care less which means you DON'T CARE LOL." —@EmergencyPharmacy53
"Real-la-tor instead of real-tor." —@jajabibi67
"When people say Valentine’s Day as 'Valentimes day' 😭." —@Glittering_Pea5599
"Nuclear pronounced as 'New-queue-lur. Drives me bonkers!" —@Maleficent-Yam-5196
"Could of / should of / etc." —@Traditional_Goal6971
"Eggcetera." —@ufficient_Space8484
"Across. People here say 'acrost'. And I know it’s now accepted but it throws me when I hear people say 'axin' instead of 'asking'." —@UtahUtopia
Hearing people mispronounce words can be a pet peeve.Photo credit: Canva
"Irregardless." —@fineline3061
"For all INTENTS AND purposes." —@Doc308
"Mischievous. Miss-Chev-Us. But EVERYONE says Miss-Chee—VEE-us. I said it wrong for decades too." —@fleshvessel
"Amblance instead of Ambulance." —@katmcflame
"Pellow. Melk. Fustrated." —@KimboSliceChestHair
"Punkin instead of pumpkin." —@Geester43
"Italian. It's not Eyetalian." —@hairyairyolas
@indiagants Replying to @BetweenTwoOars Some more words that are often misspelled or misprounounced :) #grammar #mispronounce #englishgrammar
"Hot take…When did we start pronouncing the 'T' in 'often?' I was taught in school it was silent :)" —@SilentConstant2114
"Pacifically instead of specifically." —@PepsiMaxHoe
"Pitcher for picture." —@shnarfmaster3000
"'FentaNAHL'. It’s fentanyl." —@daveindo
"I’m going to expose my middle-class here but it’s KEE-NWAH, not KIH-NOAH. And it’s ‘Champing at the bit’, not ‘chomping’." —@creator_chronicles
"Where people say 'seen' instead of 'saw'. 'I seen this car coming down the street...' My brain melts every time." —@Direct_Disaster9299
"Kindygarten, kiddygarden." —@NeverDidLearn
'Take for granite' u sound so dumb. Its GRANTED people." —@silly_creation650
"'Oh look! A strawbrery!'" —@WafflesTalbot
"'verbiage' as 'verb-uj'." —@valentinakontrabida
"Anyways. There is no 'S' in this." —@Zealousideal-Cook104
"Writing 'ect.' instead of 'etc.' and pronouncing it wrongly - 'eccetera' instead of 'et cetera'." —@KiwiFruit404
Mispronouncing words are hard to hear. www.upworthy.com
"Foyer. It's Foy-yay, not Foy-yer." —@hoosiergirl1962
"There so many. Here are but a few. 'Burfday'. It’s birthday, damn it! 'Alls I know'. I want to rip my ears off. 'Ax' instead of 'ask'." —@mbc072558
"Poinsettia, people say it as pointsetta, it has irked me for years." —@dararie
"When people say 'pitcher' for 'picture'." —@Desperate_Holiday_78
Did your language pet peeve make the list?
Whether you're team "expresso" or ready to throw your coffee over "supposably", these everyday slip-ups clearly strike a nerve. Language is always evolving, but that doesn’t mean we have to suffer through "irregardless". What would you add?
This article originally appeared last year.