The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
FORMAL
Definition of FORMAL
adjective
In accordance with established forms.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
From Middle English formel, borrowed from Old French formel, from Latin fōrmālis, from fōrma (“form”); equivalent to form + -al.
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 (9,487)
branch · 33% of traced words
How it is built
Same root, FORMAL · 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.
FORMAL in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 11 boards so far. 15 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 6, 27 May 2026. The most recent board was Day 133, 30 September 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 11 days.
First found by a player on Day 6, 27 May 2026.
Built from these letters
FORMAL starts with F and ends with L. Sorted, its letters read AFLMOR - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. No letter is used twice, which makes it an isogram.
Words that start FORMAL
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Also seen on Day 6
Could you have found FORMAL?
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 6 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER