misspell

mis-SPEL

meaning in plain English

To spell a word the wrong way.

Imagine you misspell a name on a birthday card—'Miss Spell' the wizard who mixes up letters every time.

for example

She didn’t notice she would misspell 'separate' as 'seperate' every time.

You know you’ve misspelled a word when your phone’s autocorrect glares at you like you just handed it a riddle it can’t solve, or when your coworker’s email signature reads 'Sincerely, Jhon'—and suddenly you’re the one who has to explain why 'misspell' is a verb that even spell-check can’t always fix.