The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
GAINSAY
Definition of GAINSAY
verb
To say something in contradiction to.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Other senses
GAINSAY carries 4 further meanings.
transitive verb
To declare to be false; deny. synonym: deny.
transitive verb
To oppose (someone), especially by contradiction.
To speak against; contradict; oppose in words; deny or declare not to be true; controvert; dispute: applied to persons, or to propositions, declarations, or facts.
noun
A gainsaying; opposition in words; contradiction.
Where it comes from
From Middle English gainsayen, ȝeinseggen (“to say against, say in opposition to”), equivalent to gain- + say. Compare Old Danish gensige (“to speak against; gainsay”), Swedish gensaga (“a speaking against; protest”).
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
- Middle English
- English
One recorded step before English.
Deepest traced root
4th
of 59 source languages in OUTLIER
6.1%
of traced words share this origin (4,799)
branch · 22.6% of traced words
How it is built
Same root, GAINSAY · 2 relatives in the game
Its etymology also names Danish, Swedish.
GAINSAY in a sentence
“Indeed, I have offended and done evil; but I crave pardon of Allah Almighty for whatso I did, and if He reunite us, I will never again gainsay thee in aught, no, never! —”
OUTLIER scores every word on how unusual it is, and that number is not published. Working it out at the board is the game.
GAINSAY in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 41 boards so far. 94 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 18, 7 June 2026. The most recent board was Day 156, 23 October 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 1 day.
First found by a player on Day 18, 7 June 2026.
Built from these letters
GAINSAY starts with G and ends with Y. Sorted, its letters read AAGINSY - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. A appears more than once.
Words that mean much the same
Near-synonyms of GAINSAY. Not interchangeable at the board - the grid decides that - but close in meaning.
Words that start GAINSA
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Also seen on Day 18
Could you have found GAINSAY?
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 18 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER