The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
EXCEPTIONAL
Definition of EXCEPTIONAL
adjective
Forming an exception; not ordinary; uncommon; rare.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
From exception + -al.
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
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.
EXCEPTIONAL in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 12 boards so far. 53 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 17, 6 June 2026. The most recent board was Day 144, 11 October 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 3 days.
First ever to find it
on Day 17, 6 June 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
EXCEPTIONAL starts with E and ends with L. Sorted, its letters read ACEEILNOPTX - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. E appears more than once. It uses X - among the least common letters in written English.
Words that start EXCEPTI
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Also seen on Day 17
Could you have found EXCEPTIONAL?
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 17 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER