The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
SFUMATO
Definition of SFUMATO
noun
A painting technique, prominent during the Italian Renaissance, involving the application of subtle layers of translucent paint, blurring the transition between colors, tones and often objects and creating the illusion of depth.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Other senses
SFUMATO carries 4 further meanings.
noun
The blurring or softening of sharp outlines in painting by subtle and gradual blending of one tone into another.
In painting, smoked: noting a style of painting wherein the tints are so blended that outlines are scarcely perceptible, the effect of the whole being indistinct or misty.
adjective
Having vague outlines, and colors and shades so mingled as to give a misty appearance; -- said of a painting.
noun
In painting, the application of subtle layers of translucent paint so that there is no visible transition between colors, tones and often objects.
Where it comes from
From Italian sfumato (“shaded, toned down”).
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
- Italian
- English
One recorded step before English.
Deepest traced root
10th
of 59 source languages in OUTLIER
1.9%
of traced words share this origin (506)
branch · 15.3% of traced words
How it is built
Same root, SFUMATO · 1 relative in the game
SFUMATO in a sentence
“In particular, he developed a theory and practice revolving around the representation of shadows, called sfumato .”
OUTLIER scores every word on how unusual it is, and that number is not published. Working it out at the board is the game.
SFUMATO in OUTLIER
It has fitted 1 board so far. 91 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 46, 5 July 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 90 days.
First ever to find it
on Day 16, 5 June 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
SFUMATO starts with S and ends with O. Sorted, its letters read AFMOSTU - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. No letter is used twice, which makes it an isogram.
Also seen on Day 46
Could you have found SFUMATO?
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 46 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER