How to get a random word
- Press Draw a word. A word lands on the card with a small label that says whether it is a noun, a verb or an adjective.
- Need more than one? Set How many to anything from 1 to 10 and press the button again: the words are always different from each other.
- Open Words to narrow the list: only nouns, verbs or adjectives, easy or harder words, words that start with a certain letter, or Only things you can draw. The number on the button says how many words are left to draw from.
- With No repeats on, a drawn word stays out until you press Start over. History keeps every draw with the time, and Copy puts the words on your clipboard.
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What people use random words for
Drawing and guessing games
Switch on Only things you can draw and every word is an object, an animal or a place you can sketch in a minute: a lighthouse, a snail, a ladder. One person looks at the word, the others guess from the drawing. For acting it out without words, verbs work well too.
Writing prompts and songs
Draw three words and write a story, a poem or a verse that uses all of them. Freestyle rappers do the same out loud: a new word every few lines keeps the rhymes from repeating. Harder words make it more of a challenge.
In the classroom
Draw a word and ask the class to spell it, use it in a sentence, find a synonym or say whether it is a noun or a verb. Present mode shows it big enough for the back row, and the space bar draws the next one without touching the mouse.
Speaking practice
Learners of English can draw a word and talk about it for a minute, or draw five and tell a short story with them. Easy words suit beginners; harder ones bring in vocabulary like ancient, negotiate or orchestra.
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Questions about the random word generator
Where do the words come from?
From our own list of about 1,100 common English words, picked by hand and split into nouns, verbs and adjectives, each marked easy or harder. Nouns are shown in the singular, verbs in their base form. There are no rude words, no brand names and nothing you would not say in front of a class.
Is every word equally likely?
Yes. Every word that matches your settings has exactly the same chance. The pick is made by the secure random generator built into your browser, and the short roll you see before the word lands is only decoration.
What is the difference between easy and harder words?
Easy words are the ones a young child already knows: cat, jump, happy. Harder words are still common, but longer or more grown-up: volcano, whisper, curious. You won't get rare dictionary words that nobody uses.
Which words count as things you can draw?
Nouns for objects, animals, food, vehicles and places that most people can sketch so others recognise them, such as a kite, a giraffe or a castle. Ideas like freedom or a week are left out. While this option is on, the word type is set to nouns.
Can I get a word that starts with a certain letter?
Yes. Under Words, pick a letter in Starts with. The list shows how many words each letter has with your other settings, so you can see at once that X has hardly any.
Can I use my own words?
This page draws only from its own list. For a list of your own, use the wheel or the name picker on this site (both linked below): they take any words you type in and can also draw without repeats.
Do I need to sign up or install anything?
No. The page works in any modern browser on a phone, tablet or computer, keeps working offline once it has loaded, and saves your settings and history only on your own device.
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