The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
HIDEOUS
Definition of HIDEOUS
adjective
Extremely or shockingly ugly.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
From Middle English hidous, from Anglo-Norman hidous, from Old French hideus, hydus (“that which inspires terror”), from earlier hisdos, from Old French hisda (“horror, fear”), of uncertain and disputed origin. Probably from Proto-West Germanic *agisiþu (“horror, terror”), from Proto-West Germanic *agisōn (“to frighten, terrorise”), from Proto-Germanic *agaz (“terror, fear”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂egʰ- (“to frighten”). Cognate with Old High German egisa, egidī (“horror”), Old English egesa (“fear, dread”), Gothic 𐌰𐌲𐌹𐍃 (agis, “fear, terror”). Alternative etymology cites possible derivation from Latin hispidosus (“rugged”), from hispidus (“rough, bristly”), yet the semantic evolution is less plausible.
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
5 recorded generations before English.
Deepest traced root
2nd
of 59 source languages in OUTLIER
14.2%
of traced words share this origin (11,700)
How it is built
Same root, HIDEOUS · 1 relative in the game
Its etymology also names Latin, Old English.
Every Proto-Indo-European word → · The Word DNA of OUTLIER →
OUTLIER scores every word on how unusual it is, and that number is not published. Working it out at the board is the game.
HIDEOUS in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 47 boards so far. 90 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 13, 2 June 2026. The most recent board was Day 161, 28 October 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 4 days.
First ever to find it
on Day 13, 2 June 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
HIDEOUS starts with H and ends with S. Sorted, its letters read DEHIOSU - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. No letter is used twice, which makes it an isogram.
Words that start HIDEOU
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Also seen on Day 13
Could you have found HIDEOUS?
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 13 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER