The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
PERNICIOUS
Definition of PERNICIOUS
adjective
Causing much harm in a subtle way.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
From Middle English, from Old French pernicios, from Latin perniciōsus (“destructive”), from perniciēs (“destruction”), from per (“through”) + nex (“slaughter, death”).
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
OUTLIER scores every word on how unusual it is, and that number is not published. Working it out at the board is the game.
PERNICIOUS in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 42 boards so far. 162 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 14, 3 June 2026. The most recent board was Day 100, 28 August 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 1 day.
First ever to find it
on Day 14, 3 June 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
PERNICIOUS starts with P and ends with S. Sorted, its letters read CEIINOPRSU - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. I appears more than once.
Words that start PERNIC
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Also seen on Day 14
Could you have found PERNICIOUS?
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 14 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER