Scripps National Spelling Bee winning words of the 21st century

George Thampy won with “demarche, " a political step or initiative.

When it comes to a substitute for a medicine or drug, one could use the word “succedaneum.” Not everyone could even attempt to spell that, but it was the word that led Connor Flanagan to win in 2001.

Wonder if Pratyush Buddiga had the prospicience that they were going to win in 2002 because that 12-letter word also means foresight.

The 2003 champion, Sai Gunturi, was not pococurante when it came to the competition, as the winner cannot be nonchalant or careless if they’re going to go all the way to the end.

Native Americans are autochthonous to the United States, which means they are indigenous to the U.S. and did not descend from colonists.

In 2005, Anurag Kashyap got “appoggiature,” a word anyone who has studied or studies music would know.

If Kerry Close had asked for the place of origin for “Ursprache” in 2006, they would’ve gotten German as their answer, and in English, that translates to “parent language.”

Those who watch medical shows might have heard the term “serrefine” before, as it is a small surgical tool like forceps.

In 2008, Sameer Mishra won the guerdon when they spelled that right, meaning they won the reward.

Those who approach religion or politics with a meh attitude can be seen as Laodicean.

Medical terms are popular in spelling bees, and in 2010, Anamika Veeramani won with “stromuhr." That is a medical instrument that measures the velocity of someone’s blood flow in a vessel.

If the 2011 winner, Sukanya Roy, had wavy hair, she would’ve been cymotrichous.

In 2012, the word that led Snigdha Nandipati to the winner’s circle was of French origin and meant ambush.

During Passover, many Jewish households enjoy a type of dumpling otherwise known as knaidel. Arvind Mahankali got that delicious delight from the dictionary in 2013.

In 2014, there were two winners of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. One of them was Sriram J. Hathwar, who was able to spell a word that derived from ancient Greece: stichomythia.

Ansun Sujoe was one of two winners in 2014, and their winning word was feuilleton, which is the part of papers or magazines that features fiction and criticism.

There were a few years in which multiple winners were crowned. 2015 continued the run with Gokul Venkatachalam sharing the title with Vanya Shivashankar. Venkatachalam managed to win with nunatak.

A German term for the art form of cutting paper, schrenschnitte, won Vanya Shivashankar the title in 2015.

2016 followed a tradition set in 2014 and had a pair of winners. One of them was Nihar Saireddy Janga, whose word meant a modern-day neighborhood because gesellschaft is a society where people live or work closely, but aren’t close socially.

Two words led to victory in 2016. One had to do with society, and the other stemmed from The Feldenkrais Method, a type of movement education.

Ananya Vinay was the lone winner in 2017 with a term likely more well-known in the fashion world, marocain.

Koinonia stems from ancient Greece and means fellowship, which in modern times would coincide more with churches.

2019 broke all sorts of records, as not one, not two, but nine participants managed to make it to the final round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Rohan Raja was one of those winners, winning with a word related to hypnotism and magnetism.

When plants have heads that bend down, they’re cernuous.

Abhijay Kodali was one of nine children to win in 2019. They won with a word for the birds — well, the aquatic ones, as they got palama, which refers to the webbing of the feet of birds like ducks and geese.

Pendeloque refers to a gemstone that has been cut into a pear shape.

Ever wonder what those shoulder cords on military aides were called? Shruthika Padhy spelled it in 2019. It’s an aiguillette.

Those with green thumbs have heard of bougainvillea, the tropical American plant that is usually red and purple.

Erin Howard shared the title with eight other impressive spellers by landing every letter of this skin inflammation, erysipelas.

Getting a grammar term at a spelling bee seems like a perfect match. In 2019, Rishik Gandhasri got just that as auslaut is the final sound in a word, or the final sound in a syllable.

For obvious reasons, the Scripps National Spelling Bee did not occur in 2020 but was back in action the following year with Zalia Avant Garde taking home the top prize for spelling a type of Asiatic and Australian tree, murraya.

In the 21st century, two final words have had to do with aquatic birds — in 2019 and again in 2022. Only this time, moorhen was a type of bird found near water.

Dev Shah didn’t get tripped up by the “ps” at the start of psammophile in 2023. For those not in the know, it’s an organism often found in sandy areas.

Rock climbers are familiar with the term “abseil” as they do it when they head down a rock face.

Faizan Zaki didn’t need anything more than the word when he managed to spell eclaircissement, which many might not know means “a clearing up of something obscure.”