The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
ASCERTAIN
Definition of ASCERTAIN
verb
To find out definitely; to discover or establish.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
From Middle English acerteynen, from Old French acertener, from a- (“to, towards”) + certener (“make sure of”), from the adjective certain, from Latin certus (“certain, fixed”). Compare to Spanish acertar.
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
33.1%
of traced words share this origin (9,643)
branch · 33.1% of traced words
How it is built
Same root, ASCERTAIN · 1 relative in the game
Its etymology also names Spanish.
OUTLIER scores every word on how unusual it is, and that number is not published. Working it out at the board is the game.
ASCERTAIN in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 27 boards so far. 33 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 28, 17 June 2026. The most recent board was Day 145, 12 October 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 2 days.
First found by a player on Day 28, 17 June 2026.
Built from these letters
ASCERTAIN starts with A and ends with N. Sorted, its letters read AACEINRST - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. A appears more than once.
Same letters, different word
2 other words use exactly these letters. Worth knowing at the board: an anagram fits a grid the same way.
Words that start ASCERT
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Also seen on Day 28
Could you have found ASCERTAIN?
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 28 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER