The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
ANATHEMA
Definition of ANATHEMA
noun
A ban or curse pronounced with religious solemnity by ecclesiastical authority, often accompanied by excommunication; something denounced as accursed.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
Borrowed from Late Latin anathema (“curse, person cursed, offering”), itself a borrowing from Ancient Greek ἀνάθεμα (anáthema, “something dedicated, especially dedicated to eternal damnation”), from ἀνατίθημι (anatíthēmi, “to set upon, offer as a votive gift”), from ἀνά (aná, “upon”) + τίθημι (títhēmi, “to put, place”). The Ancient Greek term was influenced by Hebrew חרם (herem), leading to the sense of "accursed," especially in Ecclesiastical writers.
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
- Hebrew
- Ancient Greek
- Latin
- English
3 recorded generations before English.
Deepest traced root
17th
of 59 source languages in OUTLIER
0.7%
of traced words share this origin (581)
branch · 2.1% of traced words
How it is built
Same root, ANATHEMA · 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.
ANATHEMA in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 2 boards so far. 11 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 148, 15 October 2026. The most recent board was Day 155, 22 October 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 22 days.
First ever to find it
on Day 148, 15 October 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
ANATHEMA starts with A and ends with A. Sorted, its letters read AAAEHMNT - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. A appears more than once.
Words that start ANATHE
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Could you have found ANATHEMA?
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 148 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER