The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
NEOTENY
Definition of NEOTENY
noun
The retention of juvenile characteristics in the adult.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
From German Neotenie, coined in 1884 by anatomist Julius Kollmann from Ancient Greek νέος (néos, “young”) + τείνειν (teínein, “to extend, spread or tense”).
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
- Ancient Greek
- German
- English
2 recorded generations before English.
Deepest traced root
2nd
of 59 source languages in OUTLIER
12.6%
of traced words share this origin (3,358)
branch · 12.6% of traced words
How it is built
OUTLIER scores every word on how unusual it is, and that number is not published. Working it out at the board is the game.
NEOTENY in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 1 board so far.
It first turned up on Day 132, 29 September 2026. It was on the latest finished board.
First ever to find it
on Day 132, 29 September 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
NEOTENY starts with N and ends with Y. Sorted, its letters read EENNOTY - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. N and E appear more than once.
Words that start NEOTEN
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Could you have found NEOTENY?
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 132 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER