When reading Maguire’s excellent book, I decided to compile a list of words mentioned within as words asked at spelling bees. Below is the list of words I ran across in the first half of the book.1
The book recounts class, district, regional, state and, of course, the national bee so the words cover the entire spectrum of difficulty. Since the list includes a very liberal sprinkling of words asked in Washington, it might appeal more to intermediate and above spellers. I checked all words against W3.
abacus
Acacia
acajou
accompaniment
accordion
acesodyne
achievement
adequate
akropodion
allograph
alluvial
almagest
alopecoid
anaptyxis
antediluvian
anthropomorphic
archipelago
arete
arrogate
arundinaceous
autochthonous
avocation
balancelle
balbriggan
Balearic
Balmoral
Bdellium
beagle
beleaguered
boeotian
bouchon
boudin
boulevardier
bourgeoisie
braggadocio
brethren
browse
Bunraku
cabotinage
cappuccino
captious
Carnauba
cauliflower
chiaroscurist
chicanery
Chihuahua
chimichanga
clavis
commination
condominium
corollary
corposant
corral
corticoline
cortile
craquelure
cribral
cuisine
daguerreotype
delitescent
denazify
desiccate
discuss
distension
dolcissimo
dulcimer
dyeing
ecdysis
ectogenous
edelweiss
electroencephalograph
eleemosynary
elucubrate
empennage
enchilada
encroachment
escharotic
esquamulose
esurient
eudaemonic
faience
fanfaronade
fantoccini
fasciculation
ferrule
forehead
fuliginous
gadarene
gamboge
gaminerie
gamut
genoise
geophagy
Giaour
gigot
gladiolus
glitch
gnathonic
Gomorrah
gradient
graupel
hackamore
harassment
heliotaxis
hemorrhage
heterogeneous
hibachi
horripilation
hydrocephalic
hygrophilous
hyperborean
ichthyology
incinerate
incisor
increscent
infinitesimal
infringement
ingratiate
insouciant
intelligible
intussusception
irradiant
isosceles
jaconet
juniper
keeshond
khan
Kierkegaardian
kimono
kirtle
kiwi
knack
kouros
kulak
labyrinthine
lacertilia
lagniappe
latkes
liturgical
logodaedaly
logorrhea
luftmensch
luxuriance
macerate
macropodous
maculature
mahout
martial
Mediterranean
meiosis
meticulously
mignonette
mimicked
monastery
monotocous
mouchoir
moussaka
murrain
nacelle
narcolepsy
nepenthe
netiquette
Nigerois
numbskull
numen
oblatory
occurrence
oligarchy
omphaloskepsis
onomastics
ophelimity
opsimath
optician
orthostichous
ossification
palimpsest
panmyelopathy
parrhesia
parvenuism
pasigraphy
patella
paucity
pergola
peristalsis
perspicuity
pettifoggery
pharisaical
pharynx
phenology
philippic
photograph
planetary
poimenics
poncho
potato
president
profligacy
prognosis
prolegomenon
promiscuous
pronunciation
propinquity
protocol
psaltery
psittacine
psychiatry
Purim
purview
Qatari
rabbinical
ratatouille
recede
receipt
reconnaissance
referable
reggae
renege
resiliency
revanche
rhinoceros
rhinorrhagia
rhubarb
rhythm
rijsttafel
rorqual
rotulet
Rubicon
rubicund
sacciform
sachem
salicylate
sanitarium
sarcophagus
sarwan
Satan
schappe
scheherazadian
schwarmerei
sciolism
senary
senescing
separate
shalloon
shrieval
silicicolous
solecism
solipsistic
sophrosyne
soubrette
springerle
stalactite
stationary
stereopticon
strengthen
strenuosity
succedaneum
sumpsimus
supernaculum
supersede
sycophant
synovial
syzygy
tarmac
telencephalon
tenor
termagant
tessellated
testaceous
trenchant
trianon
triglycerides
triskaidekophobia
triskelion
turgescent
ullaged
vaccary
vacillant
variegated
vibrissae
vilipend
vimineous
vinegarroon
virescence
virgule
vitrophyre
vivisepulture
vouchsafe
warison
Weimaraner
worsted
zarzuela
zetetic
You can also download this list as a PDF file. Look out for part II, to follow shortly.
References
1. James Maguire, American Bee: The National Spelling Bee and the Culture of Word Nerds, p. 1-138
[...] I decided to compile a list of words mentioned within as words asked at spelling bees. I posted the first part of the word list last week. This post contains the 316 words that comprise the second part of the [...]