The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
ABLUTION
Definition of ABLUTION
noun
The act of washing something. Originally, the purifying of oils and other substances by emulsification with hot water; now more generally, a thorough cleansing of a precipitate or other non-dissolved substance. The act of washing or cleansing the body, or some part of it, as a religious rite. Washing oneself; bathing, cleaning oneself up. The rinsing of the priest's hand and the sacred vessel following the Communion with, depending on rite, water or a mix of it and wine, which may then be drunk by the priest. wudu, ritual washing of the limbs and head performed immediately before prayer or holding the Quran
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
From Middle English ablucioun (“cleansing of impurities”), from Old French ablution, and its source, Late Latin ablūtiō (“a washing away”), from abluō (“wash away”), from ab- (“away”) + lavō (“wash”).
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
3 recorded generations before English.
Deepest traced root
1st
of 58 source languages in OUTLIER
33%
of traced words share this origin (9,478)
branch · 33% of traced words
How it is built
Same root, ABLUTION · 1 relative in the game
OUTLIER scores every word on how unusual it is, and that number is not published. Working it out at the board is the game.
ABLUTION in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 47 boards so far. 141 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 26, 15 June 2026. The most recent board was Day 138, 5 October 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 5 days.
First found by a player on Day 28, 17 June 2026.
Built from these letters
ABLUTION starts with A and ends with N. Sorted, its letters read ABILNOTU - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. No letter is used twice, which makes it an isogram.
Same letters, different word
One other word uses exactly these letters. Worth knowing at the board: an anagram fits a grid the same way.
Words that start ABLUTI
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Also seen on Day 26
Could you have found ABLUTION?
OUTLIER is a daily word game. One grid, the same grid for everybody, and the words nobody else spots are the ones that pay. This word was on Day 26 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER