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I have been asked to help in the preparation of a list of around 1000 words for an upcoming Celebrity Spelling Bee in Portland, OR. Sponsored by Schoolhouse Supplies, this event is the culmination of their annual auction in January. Schoolhouse Supplies lends invaluable service to the public schools of the Portland area by making supplies available at no charge to teachers, and getting corporations to donate these supplies to the schools. I feel honored to participate in the preparation of the word list. The words in this and the next few essays were all taken from the 11th Edition of the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary. I consider these words to be basic but important words. This doesn't pretend to be exhaustive but a longer list at this stage might be exhausting. In any case, the guiding principle in compiling it was that no double or triple, hyphenated, or capitalized words appear, nor are there any words on this list that are spelled in more than one way in the Collegiate. Good luck, and happy spelling! And, if you find any mistakies below, please let me know. Occasionally a word is, by mistake, out of order. When that is the case, I have marked it by an asterisk (*).

aardvark
abortifacient
absorbance
abysmal
accrual
acquiescence
adventitious
afflatus
ahimsa
alacrity
allege
alopecia
amaryllis
amiability
anadromous
anaphylaxis
anhedonia
annulment
apatosaurus
appellation
archetype
assuage
avaricious
ayatollah

abalone
abscess
abstemious
acaricide
acephalous
acromegaly
aeronomy
aggrievement
aikido
albeit
allargando
amandine
ambidextrous
amygdaloid
analgesic
anathematize
anime
antediluvian
apocalyptic
applique
arthroscopy
asynchronous
averment

abeyance
abscissa
abutment
acceleration
achingly
admissible
affidavit
agnosia
ailurophobe
aleatoric
allotment
amanuensis
amblyopia
anachronistic
analogous
androgynous
ankh
anthropopathism
arachnologist
aqueous
assiduously
atoll
aviatrix

baccarat
bacteriophage
balustrade
bathyscaphe
beleaguer
benignancy
biblicism
billabong
biretta
blasphemous
blitzkrieg
bonhomie
bouffant
boutonniere
bracero
braunschweiger
bricolage
bumptious

bacchanalia
badinage
barista
barracuda
belligerency
besiege
bildungsroman
bimillenary
biscotto
blaxploitation
bobeche
booboisie
bouillabaisse
bowline
braggadocio
brazier
brigadier
burladero

bacillus
bailiwick
baroque
battalion
bellwether
bhakti
bifurcate
biodegradable
bizarrerie
blithesome
bollix
bookkeeper
bourgeoisie
bowsprit
brasserie
bremsstrahlung
brouhaha

caballero
cachet
cadaverous
cahoot
calcify
calyx
cannoli
capillary
cardioid
cartilaginous
catapult
caveat
cerise
chanterelle
chautauqua
chifforobe
cappuccino (*)
choreography
cirrhosis
coccyx
colander
commiserate
consanguinity
cordillera
cotyledon
cruciate
cyclopean

cabriolet
cachinnate
caesura
cairn
calliope
campanology
cantatrice
carafe
carillonneur
casuistry
catechumen
cedilla
cerulean
chaparral
chenille
chipotle
chivalric
chrysalis
clerestory
cochlea
coliseum
concupiscence
contrariety
cornucopia
couscous
crustaceous
cytophilic

cacciatore
caboodle
caffeinated
calcaneus
callous
cannelloni
cantilever
carceral
carnivalesque
catamaran
cathartic
cenotaph
champignon
chardonnay
chiaroscurist
chiropractic
chlorophyll
cicada
coaxial
coercive
colloquium
connubial
coquetry
corroborate
coxswain
cuneiform

dachshund
daiquiri
dashiki
deciduous
deferrable
deltoid
demurrer
depilatory
despicable
deuterocanonical
diadem
dicey
dilettante
dirndl
disinter
distillate
doctrinaire
dour
doyenne
dummkopf
dyspepsia

dadaism
dalliance
deaccession
decolletage
deicide
demimonde
dendrochronology
derisory
despoliation
dhow
diaphragm
dieffenbachia
diphtheria
disambiguate
dispiteous
dithyrambic
dolcetto
doux
dubiety
duplicitous

daguerreotype
damask
debauchery
defeasance
deliquesce
demiurge
dentifrice
descry
desuetude
diablerie
diaspora
digerati
diptych
dishabille
dissimulate
docent
doubloon
dowsabel
dudgeon
duvet

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