There are certain words that present problems for me.

Now, I’ve always been fairly good with words. I remember how to spell them fairly easily, and unless I have a brain cramp, I can usually get my meaning across in a manuscript or conversation.

But the spelling of certain words simply refuses to stick with me. And most of them are fairly simple ones! Doesn’t matter how often I use them or look them up. Either I spell them wrong, or I wind up looking them up ANYWAY because I’m not SURE. THEY DON’T STICK. It’s like I’ve got a glitch for those words—they simply won’t process.

Examples:

GUARANTEE~~(I always want to spell it GUARENTEE).
RACCOON~~(shouldn’t this be RACOON? or RATCOON, even though the coat is ever-so-stylish?)
GENTEEL~~(more than once, I’ve spelled it GENTILE–bless me, Father, for I have sinned…)
ABACUS~~(shouldn’t this be ABBACUS? like the singing group ABBA? and why is the plural “ABACUSES”? shouldn’t it be ABACI?)
NIECE~~(yes, I know the “I before E” rule–doesn’t matter, I want this word to be spelled “NEICE”).
INCOHERENT~~(seems INCOHERANT to me that this shouldn’t be spelled differently).

Got any pet-peeve words of your own, ones you consistently have trouble with?