The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.

FORMALIST

/ˈfɔɹml̩ˌɪst/9 letters

Definition of FORMALIST

noun

An overly formal person, especially one who adheres to current forms; a stickler

Wiktionary · CC BY-SA

Where it comes from

From formal + -ist.

Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).

Word DNA

How it is built

noun2 syllablescompound-ist

Same root, FORMALIST · 1 relative in the game

The Word DNA of OUTLIER →

Rarity score
Withheld
Revealed only in play
Tier
Withheld
Find it yourself

OUTLIER scores every word on how unusual it is, and that number is not published. Working it out at the board is the game.

FORMALIST in OUTLIER

Players have found it on 14 boards so far. 15 players have found it across Outlier's history.

Day 1Day 144
Its 14 boards, across 144 finished boards · taller bars are busier boards
14
Boards found on
46
First board
142
Latest board
32
Longest gap, days

It first turned up on Day 46, 5 July 2026. The most recent board was Day 142, 9 October 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 2 days.

First ever to find it

esterchlorophyl

on Day 46, 5 July 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers

Built from these letters

FORMALIST
9
Letters
3
Vowels
6
Consonants
9
Different letters
2
Longest consonant run
1
Longest vowel run

FORMALIST starts with F and ends with T. Sorted, its letters read AFILMORST - 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.

Could you have found FORMALIST?

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 46 - and most players walked straight past it.

Play today's OUTLIER