2009 Senior Citizen Spelling Bee:

Words Actually Used

The 2009 Senior Citizen Spelling Bee is in the history books. It took 18 rounds to declare a winner, so the competition was fierce and the participants were more than competent.

• 3rd place was taken by the team of Dave Burke, John Sonnemann, and Ray Howell.
• 2nd place went to the team of Betty Carden, Monty Plough, and Carol Legray.
• The winning team was composed of Liz Bannister, Donna Hornberger, and Martha Vreeland.

The following is a list of the words actually used in the contest.

aberrant abeyance abscess absence absorbent abysmal adequate aerate aficionado aggravate aisle

amphibian antipathy apogee banana battalion bellwether benefactor borough bouillon boundary buoyant

broccoli buccaneer burglary cadence calendar cartilage cassock category cerebral changeable chauvinism

collaborate collateral colloquy committee connoisseur consistent continence contumacious convalescence

crustacean cudgel dachshund deceive defensible defoliate degauss deleterious delirious desperate

diaphragm digestion dossier effusive egregious eighth embarrass environment equipped escutcheon exorcist

exuberance fallacious fallibility familiar familiarity fascinating feral fidgeting flummox fluorescent fourth frieze

furlong galloping gauge geisha glyph guile guttural hangar harass harridan height imperative independent

indignant inefficacious inerrancy inveigle irascible jettison jocular judgmental knickknack lackadaisical lapidary

licentious lieutenant likelihood linear linoleum meretricious misogyny misspelled monotonous municipality

nihilism notoriety occupancy omission omitted ophthalmic osteopath overweening parallel pastime perceive

permissible persistent pharaoh prandial prenatal prevalence privilege provenance quandary questionnaire

raconteur recalcitrant recapitulate reciprocal referred relevant reminiscent rhythm righteous rigorous sagacious

sassafras scarcity scenario scenery seance sheriff sovereignty spectacle stabilize streusel succession surfeit

susceptible sweepstakes temperament tenebrous tenuous truly tumultuous tyranny unanimous unarguable

vengeance weird wrangle zealotry zombie