The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
MALICIOUS
Definition of MALICIOUS
adjective
Intending to do harm; characterized by spite and malice.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
From Middle English malicious, from Old French malicios, from Latin malitiōsus, from malitia (“malice”), from malus (“bad”). Displaced native Middle English ivelwilled and ivelwilly (“malicious”), related to Old English yfelwillende (literally “evil-willing”). By surface analysis, malice + -ious.
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
33.1%
of traced words share this origin (9,643)
branch · 33.1% of traced words
How it is built
Its etymology also names Old English.
OUTLIER scores every word on how unusual it is, and that number is not published. Working it out at the board is the game.
MALICIOUS in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 61 boards so far. 351 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 7, 28 May 2026. The most recent board was Day 141, 8 October 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 5 days.
First ever to find it
on Day 7, 28 May 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
MALICIOUS starts with M and ends with S. Sorted, its letters read ACIILMOSU - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. I appears more than once.
Words that start MALICI
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Also seen on Day 7
Could you have found MALICIOUS?
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 7 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER