The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
REFUSENIK
Definition of REFUSENIK
noun
One of the citizens of the former Soviet Union who was refused permission to emigrate (typically but not exclusively a Jewish citizen denied permission to immigrate to Israel).
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
From refuse + -nik (suffix denoting a nickname for a person who endorses, exemplifies, or is associated with something, often a particular ideology or preference), a calque of Russian отка́зник (otkáznik), from отка́з (otkáz, “denial, refusal, rejection, repudiation”) + -ник (-nik, suffix forming masculine nouns, usually denoting adherents, etc.).
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
- Russian
- English
One recorded step before English.
Deepest traced root
20th
of 59 source languages in OUTLIER
0.5%
of traced words share this origin (375)
branch · 0.7% of traced words
How it is built
Same root, REFUSENIK · 2 relatives in the game
OUTLIER scores every word on how unusual it is, and that number is not published. Working it out at the board is the game.
REFUSENIK in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 21 boards so far. 38 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 83, 11 August 2026. The most recent board was Day 163, 30 October 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 3 days.
First ever to find it
on Day 83, 11 August 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
REFUSENIK starts with R and ends with K. Sorted, its letters read EEFIKNRSU - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. E appears more than once.
Words that start REFUSE
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Could you have found REFUSENIK?
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 83 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER