... is definitely "definately." GAH!
I can forgive most misspellings. Let's face it: English spelling is hard. Rules are hard to remember and nearly all of them have exceptions. And some exceptions themselves have exceptions: 'I' before 'E' except after 'C' except when said 'ay' as in 'neighbor' or 'weigh'... except, of course, for 'seize' and a long list of other exceptions. Not such a useful rule. Anyway, my real beef with the "definately" crowd is that most of them wouldn't misspell any of the simpler forms from which this word is derived. Look.
Einstein wasn't sure the universe is FINATE. (No.)
There's a DEFINATE smell of cheese in this room. (Looks like a bodily function.)
Yet, tack on a 'ly', the brain goes into long-words-are-too-hard-for-me mode, and suddenly DEFINATELY looks A-OK. Eww, bad pun. Sorry.
So, if you suffer from this most unforgivable of spelling errors, check out this website. If that doesn't cure you, you might consider buying one of these to serve as a reminder. (I might just get one to show off my Grammar Nazism.)
So, until next time, remember, Spell Check Saves Lives.
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