The word list
Every word this site shows comes from one published word list. This page says exactly which one, exactly how it was composed, and exactly what its licences require — because a word tool that will not name its dictionary is asking you to take its answers on trust.
What is in it
- Source
- SCOWL (Spell Checker Oriented Word Lists) 2020.12.07, by Kevin Atkinson
- Published at
- http://wordlist.aspell.net/
- Downloaded
- 2026-08-28
- Spelling categories
- english · british · british_z · british_variant_1
- Levels included
- 10 · 20 · 35 · 40 · 50 · 55 · 60 · 70 · 80
- Word lengths
- 2 to 15 letters
- Words after composition
- 243,399
- Removed by the screen below
- 95
- Words published
- 243,304
- List built
- 2026-08-28
It is British English by construction. The composition takes SCOWL’s english, british, british_z and british_variant_1 categories and none of the American ones — so colour, centre, realise, realize and pyjamas are here and color, center and pajamas are not. Accented forms are folded to their unaccented spelling, because the tool is reached from a keyboard: café is present as cafe.
What is not in it
This is not an official word game list. The lists that word games are actually adjudicated against are commercially licensed, and no free licence exists for them:
- Collins Scrabble Words (SOWPODS) — Commercially licensed by HarperCollins. No free licence exists. Not shipped.
- TWL / OWL (NASPA Word List) — Commercially licensed by NASPA / Merriam-Webster. No free licence exists. Not shipped.
So a word here may not be playable in your game, and a word playable in your game may not be here. That is a real limitation and it is stated here rather than buried.
Words removed before publication
95 entries were removed from the published list. The rule is one sentence: a term is removed when its dominant modern English meaning is a slur against a protected characteristic. Coarse language is not removed — those are ordinary English words, they are in every printed dictionary, and lists here are ordered by how common a word is, so they never lead a page.
The screen is a hand-curated list with a recorded reason per word, not a filter applied wholesale from somewhere else. 455 published words contain a removed term as a substring — among, suspicious, raccoon, mongoose, sauerkraut — and every one of them was kept, because an automatic substring screen deletes real words and calls it safety.
Licences
The list is openly licensed and may be used commercially. Several of its components require their notice to be reproduced; all of those notices are below, in full, exactly as published.
The word list as a whole — SCOWL 2020.12.07, the collective work (Kevin Atkinson).
Permissive (MIT/X11-style): "Permission to use, copy, modify, distribute and sell these word lists, the associated scripts, the output created from the scripts, and its documentation for any purpose is hereby granted without fee, provided that the above copyright notice appears in all copies and that both that copyright notice and this permission notice appear in supporting documentation."
Notice reproduced below, as required. Commercial reuse permitted. Verified 2026-08-28. Notice sha256
2a6ad3452d9d7e5e…SCOWL level 80, which incorporates the UK Advanced Cryptics Dictionary (UKACD 1.7, Ross Beresford).
Copyright (c) J Ross Beresford 1993-2000. All Rights Reserved. Redistributable in any form PROVIDED the copyright notice is prominently displayed and the text of the UKACD document is included verbatim. "There are no other restrictions: I would like to see the list distributed as widely as possible."
Notice reproduced below, as required. Commercial reuse permitted. Verified 2026-08-28. Notice sha256
75da063a6178d803…WordNet 1.6 (Princeton University), used by SCOWL to build the inflections database.
Permissive, with a notice-and-disclaimer condition. Princeton may not be named in advertising.
Notice reproduced below, as required. Commercial reuse permitted. Verified 2026-08-28. Notice sha256
7439f5b9b2882915…VarCon (Kevin Atkinson, Benjamin Titze) and the Ispell lists it descends from (Geoff Kuenning) — the machinery that produces the British / American / Canadian / Australian spelling categories, and therefore the reason this site can say its list is British.
Permissive (Atkinson, Titze) and 3-clause BSD (Kuenning), both notice-bearing.
Notice reproduced below, as required. Commercial reuse permitted. Verified 2026-08-28. Notice sha256
02a899c35d0780cc…The Moby (MWords) lexicon (Grady Ward) and Brian Kelk’s UK English Wordlist With Frequency Classification.
Public domain, declared by their authors.
No notice condition. Commercial reuse permitted. Verified 2026-08-28. Notice sha256
ef23c4860455c9e9…The ENABLE master word list and its supplement, which enter at SCOWL level 80 alongside UKACD.
Public domain, formally released: "The ENABLE master word list, WORD.LST, is herewith formally released into the Public Domain."
No notice condition. Commercial reuse permitted. Verified 2026-08-28. Notice sha256
e3967559cf68f049…Candidate terms for the slur screen. NOT applied as a filter — 160 of its entries match this dictionary and they include `ass`, `butt`, `sex`, `nude`, `semen`, `vagina` and `suck`, which are ordinary English words a dictionary must contain. It was used to GENERATE candidates for a hand-curated list, and the curation is recorded word by word with its reason.
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) — commercial use permitted with attribution.
No notice condition. Commercial reuse permitted. Verified 2026-08-28.
Copyright notices, reproduced in full
The word list as a whole — SCOWL 2020.12.07, the collective work.
Copyright 2000-2018 by Kevin Atkinson Permission to use, copy, modify, distribute and sell these word lists, the associated scripts, the output created from the scripts, and its documentation for any purpose is hereby granted without fee, provided that the above copyright notice appears in all copies and that both that copyright notice and this permission notice appear in supporting documentation. Kevin Atkinson makes no representations about the suitability of this array for any purpose. It is provided "as is" without express or implied warranty.
SCOWL level 80, which incorporates the UK Advanced Cryptics Dictionary.
UKACD, by J Ross Beresford <ross@bryson.demon.co.uk>, is under the following copyright: Copyright (c) J Ross Beresford 1993-1999. All Rights Reserved. The following restriction is placed on the use of this publication: if The UK Advanced Cryptics Dictionary is used in a software package or redistributed in any form, the copyright notice must be prominently displayed and the text of this document must be included verbatim. There are no other restrictions: I would like to see the list distributed as widely as possible.
The UKACD document itself — the second half of UKACD’s condition ("the text of this document must be included verbatim").
The UK Advanced Cryptics Dictionary
A word list for crossword solvers and setters
by
Ross Beresford
Version 1.7
23 August 2000
Copyright (c) J Ross Beresford 1993-2000
All Rights Reserved
The UK Advanced Cryptics Dictionary
is a FREEWARE package: it can be
freely copied and distributed under
the terms of the licensing agreement
at the end of this document.
The author can be reached in the following ways:
Internet address ross@bryson.demon.co.uk
Postal address 10 Wagtail Close
Twyford
Reading RG10 9ED
United Kingdom
INTRODUCTION
------------
The UKACD is a word list compiled for the crossword community.
In particular, it's intended for setters and solvers of
advanced cryptic crosswords in the UK; for example, the
Listener Crossword and the barred puzzles in the Sunday
broadsheets.
Although there are many word lists in the public domain, none
is well suited for use with crossword construction and word
search software.
This freely distributable list should be more helpful, as it
is specifically intended for use with crossword software. The
list will be updated at periodic intervals to correct errors
and make additions.
The UKACD is in the ISO 8859-1 character set (compatible with
the Windows ANSI character set), with a single entry per line.
EDITORIAL POLICY
----------------
The original basis for the UKACD was a word list of some
500,000 entries, compiled from public domain sources.
This was reduced to a list of around 190,000 words by
eliminating entries that aren't generally allowable in
UK advanced cryptic puzzles.
The list continues to be improved as missing entries are
discovered and added. A new update is issued when several
thousand entries have been added since the previous one.
The vocabulary included in the following single volume UK
English dictionaries is used as a guide to acceptability:
The Chambers Dictionary
Collins English Dictionary
The Concise Oxford Dictionary
Words are given in all their inflected forms, where
appropriate. That is, nouns are given in their plural
form(s); verbs are given as the infinitive, third person
singular, present and past participle; and the comparative
and superlative forms of adjectives are included where
they are reasonably common.
Common proper names are included, as they are often found
in crosswords, even though only Collins of the above
dictionaries has a systematic coverage of them. Some very
common words not to be found in any of the dictionaries
are also included.
To make the list more useful for compiling jumbo grids,
longer non-dictionary entries are being added. These include:
well-known quotations and proverbs; fictional characters and
book titles; films, pieces of music and works of art.
Some attempt is made to standardise the punctuation and
capitalisation of entries; in particular, by ensuring all
proper names start with a capital letter. However, no great
effort is put into this, as it only marginally affects the
usefulness of the list to crossworders.
Dictionary entries only differing in punctuation, accenting or
capitalisation are folded onto the single most common form.
This is done to save space and, again makes little difference
to the value of the UKACD to setters and solvers.
FEEDBACK
--------
If you find any errors, or have suggestions for additions,
please e-mail or post them to me at the address on the first
page of this document. Provided they are within the scope of
the UKACD, as defined under EDITORIAL POLICY, they will be
included in the next release of the word list.
LICENSING INFORMATION
---------------------
Copyright (c) J Ross Beresford 1993-2000. All Rights Reserved.
The following restriction is placed on the use of this
publication: if The UK Advanced Cryptics Dictionary is used
in a software package or redistributed in any form, the
copyright notice must be prominently displayed and the text
of this document must be included verbatim.
There are no other restrictions: I would like to see the
list distributed as widely as possible.
The WordNet 1.6 database, used by SCOWL to build its inflections database.
This software and database is being provided to you, the LICENSEE, by Princeton University under the following license. By obtaining, using and/or copying this software and database, you agree that you have read, understood, and will comply with these terms and conditions.: Permission to use, copy, modify and distribute this software and database and its documentation for any purpose and without fee or royalty is hereby granted, provided that you agree to comply with the following copyright notice and statements, including the disclaimer, and that the same appear on ALL copies of the software, database and documentation, including modifications that you make for internal use or for distribution. WordNet 1.6 Copyright 1997 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. THIS SOFTWARE AND DATABASE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND PRINCETON UNIVERSITY MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. BY WAY OF EXAMPLE, BUT NOT LIMITATION, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF MERCHANT- ABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR THAT THE USE OF THE LICENSED SOFTWARE, DATABASE OR DOCUMENTATION WILL NOT INFRINGE ANY THIRD PARTY PATENTS, COPYRIGHTS, TRADEMARKS OR OTHER RIGHTS. The name of Princeton University or Princeton may not be used in advertising or publicity pertaining to distribution of the software and/or database. Title to copyright in this software, database and any associated documentation shall at all times remain with Princeton University and LICENSEE agrees to preserve same.
VarCon, used to derive the British/American/Canadian/Australian spelling categories, and the Ispell lists it descends from.
The VarCon package was used to create the American, British, Canadian,
and Australian word list. It is under the following copyright:
Copyright 2000-2016 by Kevin Atkinson
Permission to use, copy, modify, distribute and sell this array, the
associated software, and its documentation for any purpose is hereby
granted without fee, provided that the above copyright notice appears
in all copies and that both that copyright notice and this permission
notice appear in supporting documentation. Kevin Atkinson makes no
representations about the suitability of this array for any
purpose. It is provided "as is" without express or implied warranty.
Copyright 2016 by Benjamin Titze
Permission to use, copy, modify, distribute and sell this array, the
associated software, and its documentation for any purpose is hereby
granted without fee, provided that the above copyright notice appears
in all copies and that both that copyright notice and this permission
notice appear in supporting documentation. Benjamin Titze makes no
representations about the suitability of this array for any
purpose. It is provided "as is" without express or implied warranty.
Since the original words lists come from the Ispell distribution:
Copyright 1993, Geoff Kuenning, Granada Hills, CA
All rights reserved.
Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions
are met:
1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright
notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the
documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
3. All modifications to the source code must be clearly marked as
such. Binary redistributions based on modified source code
must be clearly marked as modified versions in the documentation
and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
(clause 4 removed with permission from Geoff Kuenning)
5. The name of Geoff Kuenning may not be used to endorse or promote
products derived from this software without specific prior
written permission.
THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY GEOFF KUENNING AND CONTRIBUTORS ``AS IS'' AND
ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE
IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE
ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL GEOFF KUENNING OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE
FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL
DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS
OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION)
HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT
LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY
OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF
SUCH DAMAGE.
Public-domain components
These carry no condition at all. They are recorded because a provenance record that lists only the obligations is not a provenance record.
The Moby (MWords) lexicon and Brian Kelk’s "UK English Wordlist With Frequency Classification", which supply SCOWL’s common-word levels.
The MWords package was explicitly placed in the public domain:
The Moby lexicon project is complete and has
been place into the public domain. Use, sell,
rework, excerpt and use in any way on any platform.
Placing this material on internal or public servers is
also encouraged. The compiler is not aware of any
export restrictions so freely distribute world-wide.
You can verify the public domain status by contacting
Grady Ward
3449 Martha Ct.
Arcata, CA 95521-4884
grady@netcom.com
grady@northcoast.com
The "UK English Wordlist With Frequency Classification" is also in the
Public Domain:
Date: Sat, 08 Jul 2000 20:27:21 +0100
From: Brian Kelk <Brian.Kelk@cl.cam.ac.uk>
> I was wondering what the copyright status of your "UK English
> Wordlist With Frequency Classification" word list as it seems to
> be lacking any copyright notice.
There were many many sources in total, but any text marked
"copyright" was avoided. Locally-written documentation was one
source. An earlier version of the list resided in a filespace called
PUBLIC on the University mainframe, because it was considered public
domain.
Date: Tue, 11 Jul 2000 19:31:34 +0100
> So are you saying your word list is also in the public domain?
That is the intention.
The ENABLE master word list and its supplement, which enter at SCOWL level 80 alongside UKACD.
The ENABLE package, mainted by M\Cooper <thegrendel@theriver.com>, is in the Public Domain: The ENABLE master word list, WORD.LST, is herewith formally released into the Public Domain. Anyone is free to use it or distribute it in any manner they see fit. No fee or registration is required for its use nor are "contributions" solicited (if you feel you absolutely must contribute something for your own peace of mind, the authors of the ENABLE list ask that you make a donation on their behalf to your favorite charity). This word list is our gift to the Scrabble community, as an alternate to "official" word lists. Game designers may feel free to incorporate the WORD.LST into their games. Please mention the source and credit us as originators of the list. Note that if you, as a game designer, use the WORD.LST in your product, you may still copyright and protect your product, but you may *not* legally copyright or in any way restrict redistribution of the WORD.LST portion of your product. This *may* under law restrict your rights to restrict your users' rights, but that is only fair.
The list holds 243,304 words. Browse it at all word lists, or search it with the anagram solver.