The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
ABSTINENCE
Definition of ABSTINENCE
noun
The act or practice of abstaining, refraining from indulging a desire or appetite.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
From Middle English abstinence, from Old French abstinence, from Latin abstinentia, from abstinēns, present participle of abstineō (“to withhold”). Equivalent to abstain + -ence.
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
3 recorded generations before English.
Deepest traced root
1st
of 59 source languages in OUTLIER
30.7%
of traced words share this origin (25,695)
branch · 30.7% of traced words
How it is built
OUTLIER scores every word on how unusual it is, and that number is not published. Working it out at the board is the game.
ABSTINENCE in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 2 boards so far.
It first turned up on Day 166, 2 November 2026. The most recent board was Day 169, 5 November 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 2 days.
First ever to find it
on Day 166, 2 November 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
ABSTINENCE starts with A and ends with E. Sorted, its letters read ABCEEINNST - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. N and E appear more than once.
Words that start ABSTIN
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Could you have found ABSTINENCE?
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 166 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER