diff --git a/check_source/check_spelling.py b/check_source/check_spelling.py
index 40577419d8f7c2e670271c6ab0f30b1962b82730..c43a68fe68abb6d4193eb12c47f95536767f6fa9 100755
--- a/check_source/check_spelling.py
+++ b/check_source/check_spelling.py
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ if USE_COLOR:
     COLOR_WORD = "\033[92m"
     COLOR_ENDC = "\033[0m"
 else:
-    COLOR_FAIL = ""
+    COLOR_WORD = ""
     COLOR_ENDC = ""