Spelling.School · How to spell

How to spell intelligence

Intelligence is spelled I-N-T-E-L-L-I-G-E-N-C-E. The part people get wrong: double L.

What it means: The ability to think, learn, and solve problems.

In a sentence: The octopus used its intelligence to solve the tricky puzzle. ▶

The part people get wrong

Watch for double l, and an unstressed vowel that is hard to hear.

Same family: intelligent, intelligently, intelligencer, military-intelligence, intelligence-gathering. If you can spell one, the shared part carries to the others.

Where it comes from: “Intelligence” comes from Latin ‘intelligentia,’ from ‘intellegere’ meaning ‘to understand’ or ‘to discern.’ Over time, its meaning expanded from ‘understanding’ to also include ‘secret information gathered about an enemy,’ especially in military and political contexts.

Try spelling it

You will hear the word and a sentence. Type it and press Enter. Then four more words from the same level, so you know where you stand.

Words like this

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