Scrabble Word List

GUISARD n pl. -S a masker 59 points (9 points without the bingo) This is a pretty simple word to explain. Since the definition states guisard being a masker, then it's easy to tell where this word comes from—guise, which means to disguise, or more specifically to alter the a ...more

If you haven't noticed yet, I've started dishing out some "Scrabble Bingo of the Day" articles that showcase interesting and somewhat unusual seven-letter words (or longer) that could give you an extra 50-point bonus on the board, as long as you empty your rack. So, for this w ...more

DYVOUR n pl. -S one who is bankrupt Nigel Richards played this word in his very first game in the 2010 National SCRABBLE Championship (NSC) held in Texas, which ended today. Richards won that first game against Lucas Freeman with a 462 to 392 score, but "DYVOUR" was no forewa ...more

What's your highest scoring game of Scrabble? Since starting this Scrabble World, I've been able to break 500 points on a regular basis. This year I've even managed to break the 600-point barrier a couple times. If you ask me, that's a pretty hefty sum to score in one game, b ...more

I'm not much for politics, but I do like to keep tabs on our elected government officials from time to time, since I am a registered voter and believe that every one should vote (unless they're just voting to say they voted). This pretty much means I pay attention to my local ...more

I have had a lot of people ask me, "How does my neighbor keep getting into my wireless?!". Chances are, these people are all using WEP, a deprecated wireless encryption protocol. Either that, or you are using one weak WPA passphrase. If someone can access your wireless networ ...more

After the media outcry of Google Buzz's privacy issues, Google has set its goals on making the privacy parameters of Google+ simple to learn and as explicitly manageable as possible. No small feat. The approach has been to make the process of organizing your friends, contacts ...more

Apparently, the Aussie pop singer is quite the Scrabble player.  At least, that's what the word is. An article in 2009 from Mirror.co.uk reports that a very close friend of Minogue is tired of losing: "We quite often have marathon Scrabble competitions. Kylie has the game do ...more

Scrabble Bingo of the Day: TRAVOISE [n] Today's word is in honor of Joel Sherman, whose record-breaking game last weekend netted him seven bingo plays, one of which was TRAVOISE. A travoise is a type of sled, but no… it's not like a toboggan or snow sleigh. Though it can be, ...more

Who knew playing SCRABBLE could lead to something like this?!? Nearly four years after he was convicted of seven counts of Internet luring, a Winnipeg man's online activities have landed him back in court. James Glenn Horeczy admitted he made sexually suggestive comments to ...more

WonderHowTo is made up niche communities called Worlds. If you've yet to join one (or create your own), get a taste below of what's going on in the community. Check in every Wednesday for a roundup of new activities and projects. This week: mathematical sculptures, burning Xb ...more

I just started reading this book about the world of competitive Scrabble players. Who knew this simple board game could be so full of highs and lows?

The secret to kicking ass at Scrabble? Playing super down and dirty. Mehal Shah gives us the entire lowdown in the video below. Thanks to WonderHowTo World, Scrabble World, for the find: "Shah runs through some clean and some dirty ways to play, like playing defensively, clo ...more

Scrabble Bingo of the Day: GRUYERE [n] One of the most famous types of cheeses made in Switzerland, made from the milk of a cow. It's a hard yellow cheese named from its town of origin, Gruyère. The cheese can be spelled with or without the grave accent (`) on the è, though i ...more

URUSHIOL 61 points (11 points without the bingo) Definition: a toxic liquid [n] It may look like a funny word, especially since it's derived from a word meaning "lacquer" in Japan, but most of you are probably familiar with urushiol. Maybe not by name, but by its bothersome ...more

SHLEMIEL 63 points (11 points without the bingo) Definition: an unlucky bungler [n] Shlemiel is a Yiddish word that describes a clumsy, inept person by Jewish persons. The Yiddish language is a mix of German, Hebrew and Slavic languages, and was very common amongst Jews in c ...more

What happens when a struggling writer cannot finish the screenplay to her second film? She writes a book. While artist and filmmaker Miranda July was struggling to conceive the script to The Future, the followup to her successful film Me and You and Everyone We Know, she bec ...more

JUMBUCK 74 points (24 points without the bingo) Definition: a sheep [n] There are many different words for sheep—not sheep breeds, but words separating sheep by ages, sex, and by the use of the animal itself. Some of these words include buck, dam, ewe, ram, hogg, hogget, wet ...more

Do you think humans are the only ones who like the challenge of a good word game? Well, think again, because homo sapiens aren't the only ones up for stimulating their brains. Other species on planet Earth like to play Scrabble, too, and they're the ones most likely to actuall ...more

In these weekly Scrabble Challenges, so far we've covered two-letter words, double bingos, high scoring moves, triple-triples, last moves, parallel plays, phoneys and opening moves. For this week's puzzle, we're revisiting the strategy for opening moves. It's said that the pl ...more

APOLOGUE n pl. -S an allegory 61 points (11 points without the bingo) An apologue (or apolog) is an allegorical short story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning or principle, typically a moral or political one. It's very similar to a fable, bu ...more

FEAZING 70 points (20 points without the bingo) Definition: fazing; disturbing the composure of [present participle of feaze] As mentioned, feazing is the present participle of feaze, which is a verb that means "to faze," which itself means "to disturb the composure of." In ...more

Now that you have your two-letter words down and have practiced your skills, it's time to move on to another important part of Scrabble gameplay—the opening move. There's a well known adage that states, “The player going first will win 54% of the time—all other things being eq ...more

COLOSSUS n pl. COLOSSUSES or COLOSSI a gigantic statue 60 points (10 points without the bingo) A colossus is a huge statue with great size and proportions, but it could also mean a person or thing of immense size or power. It comes from the Latin word colosseus and the Greek ...more

HEXEREI n pl. -S witchcraft 67 points (17 points without the bingo) HEXEREI is a word used in Pennsylvania Dutch dialects in lieu of WITCHCRAFT, usually related to black magic that's brought upon them and their farm as retaliation for some minor wrongdoing. A farmer who may ...more

LEVOGYRE 65 points (15 points without the bingo) Definition: turning toward the left [adj] The basic meaning of levogyre above is correct, since it comes from the Latin words laevus (left) and gyrare (rotate), but it's more common in organic chemistry, referring to a compoun ...more

CYNOSURE 63 points (13 points without the bingo) Definition: a center of attraction [n] A cynosure is something or someone that strongly attracts attention and admiration from others by its allure, brilliance, and interest, and usually is associated with lustrousness and att ...more

MIMESIS n pl. -MESISES or -MESES mimicry MIMETIC adj 61 points (11 points without the bingo) MIMESIS is just another term for MIMICRY in the world of zoology, but it's not just limited to the science of animals, it's used elsewhere as well. But no matter where you use the wo ...more

VERONICA n pl. -S a handkerchief bearing the image of Christ's face 63 points (13 points without the bingo) Veronica was the name given to the cloth veil that was supposedly impressed with an image of Jesus's face. The veil was given to Christ by Saint Veronica of Jerusalem ...more

Scrabble Bingo of the Day: MIASMIC [adj] Miasmic is an adjective for miasm (or miasma), which means a noxious vapor—"bad air" harmful to health. The word miasma comes from the ancient Greek word for pollution. And the concept of bad air also gave rise to the name malaria, fro ...more

BEJABERS interj bejesus (used as a mild oath) 69 points (19 points without the bingo) An oath is almost always associated with promises or sworn declarations, but it also has a different meaning as a profane or offensive expression used to convey anger or other strong emotio ...more

EUCAINE n pl. -S an anesthetic 59 points (9 points without the bingo) The first effective local anesthetic ever was cocaine, obtained from the leaves of the coca plant, and it's still legal for medical use. But cocaine tends to cause intense vasoconstrictor activity and some ...more

BOVINITY 66 points (16 points without the bingo) Definition: the state of being a bovine [n] At first glance, the definition for bovinity seems a bit too obvious… the state of being an ox-like animal. But outside the world of cattle, it's meant more as a disparaging remark t ...more

DIAPSID 61 points (11 points without the bingo) Definition: a reptile with two pairs of temporal openings in the skull [n] Diapsids are "double-arched" reptiles whose skulls possess two developed openings (temporal fenestra) behind each of the eye sockets (above and below) w ...more

WICKIUP 68 points (18 points without the bingo) Definition: an American Indian hut [n] It's shaped like an igloo, but wickiups aren't made of snow and ice, there made of arched wooden poles and some sort of roofing material, such as grass, brush, reeds, or cloth—basically, w ...more

REVENANT n pl. -S one that returns 61 points (11 points without the bingo) Frankenstein. Vampires. Zombies. These creepy creatures are all examples of the UNDEAD, living entities that are technically dead but still animate. Some of these 'walking dead' feed off blood, others ...more

BANSHIE n pl. -S banshee 62 points (12 points without the bingo) The BANSHIE (or BANSHEE) is a female spirit from Gaelic folklore that wails unbearably loud as PRESAGE for someone's imminent death. Irish legend states her as being a fairy woman and messenger of death from th ...more

CUCURBIT n pl. -S a gourd 64 points (14 points without the bingo) Halloween is just around the corner, and by now most of you have already picked up a CUCURBIT to gut and carve scary faces into. Yes, that jack-o-lantern decorating your doorstep for all of the trick-or-treate ...more

UTILIDOR n pl. -S an insulated system of pipes for use in arctic regions 59 points (9 points without the bingo) UTILIDOR is a portmanteau word for "utility" and "corridor" used to describe a large enclosed and insulated conduit built either above or below the ground surface ...more

PLASTRUM n pl. -S plastron 62 points (12 points without the bingo) The PLASTRUM (or PLASTRON) is the ventral part of a turtle's shell, which is the almost flat part on the underside of a turtle or tortoise. It's one of the main two parts of the shell, the other being the CAR ...more

FOVEOLET n pl. -S a foveola 64 points (14 points without the bingo) So, if a foveolet is a foveola, what's a foveola? It's a small fovea. Okay… what's a fovea? It's a shallow anatomical depression, which is basically a small pit or cuplike indentation in a bone or bodily org ...more

REAPHOOK n pl. -S an implement used in reaping 67 points (17 points without the bingo) After guisard was featured a couple days ago, it seems right to keep throwing in a few Halloween related Bingo of the Days. I doubt it will be one everyday, but just a few here and there t ...more

WENDIGO n pl. -GOS windigo 62 points (12 points without the bingo) The WENDIGO (or WINDIGO) is a malevolent creature from the mythology of the Algonquian, one of the most populous and widespread Native American language groups, which includes such tribes as the Innu, Ojibwe, ...more

BURKITE n pl. -S a burker 63 points (13 points without the bingo) There's no better time than Halloween to have the BEJABERS scared out of you, and no better way than with a slasher flick or horror movie about HEXEREI. To some, Halloween is a time for candy, costumes and cel ...more

ZUGZWANG n pl. -S a situation in chess that forces a disadvantageous move 81 points (31 points without the bingo) You may not ever get a chance to play zugzwang on the Scrabble board, since it requires two G tiles and two Z tiles (obviously one Z being a blank), but you've p ...more

POSTICHE 65 points (15 points without the bingo) Definition: an imitation [n] Not to be confused with pastiche, postiche simply means an imitation—a counterfeit of something. It could be anything, but most commonly it's referred to as false hair on the face or head, which in ...more

WANIGAN 61 points (11 points without the bingo) Definition: a supply chest used in a logging camp [n] The most common definition of wanigan (or wannigan) is a small chest which holds supplies for lumberjacks. Some will just call it a lumberjack's trunk, but if you want to ta ...more

An odd game of Scrabble between my two cats. I think they're dyslexic. And chaotic. "I think I found a word." "Well, I think I found a better one." "I just have to dig for it." "Oi, I can't believe my luck."

I'm not sure where I got this, but I thought I'd share it with everyone. I've had it forever! Sometimes, a game of Scrabble actually feels like this.

FRONDEUR 62 points (12 points without the bingo) Definition: a rebel [n] Actually, frondeur is a word associated with the Fronde, a French civil war from around 1648 to 1660, amidst both the Franco-Spanish War and Thirty Years' War. The word "fronde" literally means sling in ...more

Welcome to WonderHowTo's first Weekly Community Roundup! Each week we will be featuring the best projects from the community, as well as ongoing challenges and activities you can partake in. WonderHowTo is made up niche communities called Worlds, so if you've yet to join one, ...more