How to spell exacerbate
exacerbate
Exacerbate is spelled E-X-A-C-E-R-B-A-T-E.
Not exaserbate.
Why is exacerbate easy to misspell?
The word exacerbate has a C in the middle, ex-ac-er-bate, and the misspelling exaserbate writes an S. Before an E, that C is soft and sounds exactly like an S.
That spelling matches the sound exactly, which is why it looked right. English keeps letters long after the sound has moved on, so the conventional spelling is often the one that looks least like it sounds.
What does exacerbate mean?
To make worse.
Which other words set the same trap?
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Play today's Daily FiveSpellingIQ is a skill rating for spelling ability, not a clinical or psychometric IQ measure. American English is canonical; common variants are accepted.