The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
VARNISH
Definition of VARNISH
noun
A clear or translucent liquid coating composed of resin dissolved in a solvent, which dries by evaporation to form a hard, protective, and typically glossy finish.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
From Middle English vernisch, vernish, from Old French vernis, from Medieval Latin vernix, veronix, from Byzantine Greek Βερενίκη (Bereníkē, “Berenice”), a town in Cyrenaica, now called Benghazi.
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.
VARNISH in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 34 boards so far. 56 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 22, 11 June 2026. The most recent board was Day 109, 6 September 2026. It was on the latest finished board.
First ever to find it
on Day 22, 11 June 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
VARNISH starts with V and ends with H. Sorted, its letters read AHINRSV - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. No letter is used twice, which makes it an isogram.
Words that start VARNIS
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Also seen on Day 22
Could you have found VARNISH?
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 22 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER