The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
OSTRACISM
Definition of OSTRACISM
noun
In ancient Athens (and some other cities), the temporary banishment by popular vote of a citizen considered dangerous to the state.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek ὀστρακισμός (ostrakismós, “banishment by means of voting with pot shards”), from ὀστρακίζω (ostrakízō, “ostracize”) + -ισμός (-ismós, “-ism”), from ὄστρακον (óstrakon, “clay pot”).
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
- Ancient Greek
- English
One recorded step before English.
Deepest traced root
2nd
of 59 source languages in OUTLIER
12.7%
of traced words share this origin (3,854)
branch · 12.7% 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.
OSTRACISM in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 1 board so far.
It first turned up on Day 140, 7 October 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 14 days.
First ever to find it
on Day 140, 7 October 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
OSTRACISM starts with O and ends with M. Sorted, its letters read ACIMORSST - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. S appears more than once.
Same letters, different word
One other word uses exactly these letters. Worth knowing at the board: an anagram fits a grid the same way.
Words that start OSTRAC
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Could you have found OSTRACISM?
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 140 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER