We’ve Rounded Up the Words Even the Experts Have a Hard Time Saying or Spelling

Question: What word in optical can you just not manage to spell or pronounce correctly no matter how hard you try?

• There are some exotic drug names that I have trouble pronouncing. — Nytarsha Thomas, OD, Visionelle Eyecare, Zionsville, IN
• Opthamology… haha, ophthalmology. Ugh that word is the worst! — Tiffany Firer, Lifetime Eyecare, Jenison, MI
• All our opticians say “fresnel” differently. — Carissa Dunphy, Monroe Vision Clinic, Monroe, WA
• Free. — Billy Isgett, Eyecare of Florence, Florence, SC
• Definitely spelled it “polorized” for the first two years in the business. — Harris Decker, Eye Designs of Westchester, Scarsdale, NY
• Refund LOL! — Chris Clark, Advanced Eye Care Optical Shoppe, Panama City, FL
• Ophthalmologist is a tough spell. I admit I had to look it up for this question. — Rick Rickgauer, Vision Associates, Girard, PA
• Aberration, always forget the second r. — Susan Spencer, Council Eye Care, Williamsville, NY
• Aniseikonia. — Texas L. Smith, OD, Dr. Texas L. Smith & Associates, Citrus Heights, CA
• Iseikonic lenses due to Anisometropia. Say that three times fast. — Dave Goodrich, OD, Goodrich Optical, Lansing, MI
• I cannot stand to use the word “progressive” in describing that particular lens design since it means a certain political agenda. I’m switching to “no line” lenses which give you distance, intermediate and near vision. — Robert M. Easton Jr. OD, FAAO, Oakland Park, FL
• Conjunctivitis (copy and pasted from different site). — Judith Whitelaw, Dr. Gregory Char, OD, Orange, OR
• Why the heck can’t our whole industry get together and issue a verdict on photochromic vs. photochromatic? — Jen Heller, Pend Oreille Vision Care, Sandpoint, ID
• Pterygium (had to look up spelling). — Lindsey Pulford, Insights Eyecare, Manhattan KS
• Hemhorrage (sp?)! — Deb Jaeger, Eye Center of the Dakotas, Bismarck, ND
• Measure. — Scott Keating, OD, Vision Trends, Dover, OH
• I’ve always been a speller, but it amazes me how many people, both optical and public, cannot spell SPECTACLE! As the name of my little optical boutique, it comes up a lot. — Elle Tatum, Elle’s Island Spectacle, Bainbridge Island, WA
• Through the years I have heard too many doctors joke with patients when calling cataracts “Cadillacs.” I caught myself explaining cataract surgery to a patient and accidentally called it “Cadillac surgery.” — Ann-Marie Weaver, Optimal Eye Care, Lewis Center, OH
• I am a spelling geek but my staff can’t seem to spell “dilation” correctly. Usually its “dialation.” Kind of makes me nuts. — Elizabeth Atkinson, OD, Atkinson Eye Care, Algonquin, IL
• Dispense. Always spell it dispence. Peripheral is a real hard one to pronounce and spell as well. — Heather Aites, Family Vision Center, Westminster, CO
• Maybe not optical but hemorrhage … I just don’t understand how that word was formulated. — Zachary Dirks, OD, St. Peter and Belle Plaine Eyecare Centers, Saint Peter, MN
• Opthalmologist … see even now I forgot the other H! — Jeff Grosekemper, Casa De Oro Eyecare, Spring Valley, CA
• I always misspell ophthalmic. — Deanna Phillips, Clemmons Family Eye Care, Clemmons, NC
• I can’t say the word specific ever. I literally have to talk around that word or I sound like a moron. — Frances Ann Layton, Eye Associates of South Georgia, Valdosta, GA