2 MS students competing in the 2026 Scripps National Spelling Bee. How to watch
Two Mississippi eight-graders are representing the state at the 2026 Scripps National Spelling Bee.
The competition begins with the preliminary round starting at 8 a.m. May 26, and the final round will take place at 8 p.m. May 28, according to the official spelling bee website.
Ahead of the spelling bee, Unscrambeler.com, an online tool for word games, analyzed Google Trends data to find the most difficult words to spell in Mississippi and across the nation.
Here’s what to know about the competition and the most difficult words for Americans to spell.
How to watch the 2026 Scripps National Spelling Bee?
The spelling bee will have four rounds. The preliminary round takes place from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on May 26, and the quarterfinals takes place from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on May 27. Both rounds can be watched on Scripps Sports, according to the spelling bees website.
The semifinals will take place from 8 to 10 p.m. on May 27 and the finals will air live from 8 to 10 p.m. on May 28. These rounds can be watched on ION.
Which MS students are representing the state?
These are the Mississippi students competing in the 2026 Scripps National Spelling Bee, according to the official website:
Meredith Trussell
- Age: 14
- Grade: 8
- City: Ridgeland
Bryer Walters
- Age: 13
- Grade: 8
- City: Ridgeland
Most misspelled words in MS
These are the top 10 most misspelled words in Mississippi, according to the study by Unscramblerer.com:
1. Business
2. Favorite
3. Beautiful
4. Appreciate
5. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
6. Definitely
7. Congratulations
8. Sincerely
9. Receipt
10. Restaurant
Most misspelled words in the US
These are the top 10 most misspelled words across the country, according to the study by Unscramblerer.com:
1. Bougie
2. Favorite
3. Through
4. Business
5. Tomorrow
6. Because
7. Definitely
8. Beautiful
9. Niece
10. Separate
What makes words hard to spell?
Many of the words on these lists follow similar, difficult spelling patterns. Here are some of the patterns that stand out, according to an Unscrambler.com spokesperson:
- Silent letters
- Irregular vowel sounds
- Tricky suffixes
- Double consonants
- Schwa sounds
- Weird double letters
- French and Spanish loanwords
“Studies show that reliance on autocorrect and AI deteriorates the author’s spelling ability over time,” the spokesperson said in a news release. “To combat this digital amnesia we encourage everybody to search for the correct spelling of the word when a feeling of doubt arises. This becomes an educational moment.”
How did Unscrambler.com find most misspelled words?
Unscrambler.com analyzed Google Trends data with the words “how do you spell” and “how to spell” from Jan. 1 through May 18, according to the report. Analysts added up 120 search variations of the top spelling searches to determine the most misspelled words.
