This year spellers faced a slew of difficult words in the nation's premier spelling contest, hosted at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland.
The first part of the finals kick off Thursday at 10 a.m. EDT on ESPN 2. After the field is whittled down even more, the second part of the round of top spellers remaining will air at 8:30 p.m. EDT on ESPN.
Do you think you have what it takes to make it to Scripps finals? Here are some of the most challenging words this year's finalists (somehow) spelled correctly in earlier rounds:
Crystallographer
Crystallographer is a noun, related to the word crystallography, meaning "a science that deals with the forms and structures of crystals," according to Merriam Webster dictionary.
Calvin Franke of Chicago correctly spelled it in Round 3.
Parvenuism
Parvenuism is a noun, meaning "parvenu nature or behavior." Parvenu is also a noun, meaning "one that has recently or suddenly risen to an unaccustomed position of wealth or power and has not yet gained the prestige, dignity, or manner associated with it."
Atman Balakrishnan of Chicago correctly spelled it in Round 3.
Plumbiferous
Plumbiferous is an adjective, meaning "containing lead."
Anisha Rao of Dublin, California, correctly spelled it in Round 3.
Woebegoneness
Woebegoneness is a noun, related to the word woebegone, meaning "strongly affected with woe."
Melodie Loya of Oneonta, New York, correctly spelled it in Round 3.
Neutercane
Neutercane is a noun, meaning "a subtropical cyclone that is usually less than 100 miles in diameter and that draws energy from sources common to both the hurricane and the frontal cyclone."
Brendan Pawlicki of Clinton Township, Michigan, correctly spelled it in Round 3.
Oyez
Oyez is an imperative verb, "used by a court or public crier to gain attention before a proclamation."
Erin Howard of Birmingham, Alabama, correctly spelled it in Round 2.
Pince-nez
Pince-nez is a noun, meaning "eyeglasses clipped to the nose by a spring."
Atman Balakrishnan of Chicago correctly spelled it in Round 2.
Montessorian
Montessorian is an adjective, meaning "of, following, or relating to a system for training young children emphasizing free physical activity, informal and individual instruction, early development of writing and reading, and extended sensory motor training."
Navneeth Murali of Neptune, New Jersey, correctly spelled it in Round 2.
Xenarthra
Xenarthra is a noun, meaning "a suborder or other division of Edentata comprising the American anteaters, armadillos, sloths, and usually the extinct ground sloths."
Brendan Pawlicki of Clinton Township, Michigan, correctly spelled it in Round 2.
Heiau
Heiau is a noun, meaning "a pre-Christian Hawaiian temple or other place of worship (as a stone platform or an earthen terrace)."
Enya Hubers of Ontario, Canada, correctly spelled it in Round 2.
Oryzivorous
Oryzivorous is an adjective, meaning "feeding on rice."
Abhijay Kodali of Dallas correctly spelled it in Round 2.
Kittiwake
Kittiwake is a noun, meaning "either of two cliff-nesting gulls (Rissa tridactyla and R. brevirostris) that winter on the open ocean."
» RELATED: How to watch the Scripps National Spelling Bee
Nilla Rajan of Athens, Ohio, correctly spelled it in Round 2.
Follow USA TODAY's Ryan Miller on Twitter @RyanW_Miller
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