Competitors in the Scripps National Spelling Bee are trying to adjust their preparation so they don't get tripped up by onstage, multiple-choice vocabulary questions. The high-stakes vocabulary portion of the bee has only been around since 2021, and last year it led to some surprising eliminations. Former speller Navneeth Murali says the current spellers he's mentoring have been preparing for the vocabulary portion all year. In the past, he and other spellers treated vocabulary as an afterthought while they tried to master roots and language patterns and explore the farthest reaches of the dictionary.

Related Keywords

Guam , Denver , Colorado , United States , Washington , California , New Jersey , Lance Sanchez , Paul Loeffler , Corrie Loeffler , Scott Remer , Navneeth Murali , Ben Nuckols , Shradha Rachamreddy , Vikram Raju , Harini Logan , Associated Press , Scripps National Spelling Bee , Grace Walters , San Jose ,