150+ Creative Hangman Phrases and Words to Try

Playing Hangman is always fun, but it can be hard to keep coming up with new phrases. Or, you might be trying to come up with a difficult Hangman phrase to stump your opponent. No matter—we’ve got you covered with a comprehensive list of difficult, funny, unique, and kid-friendly Hangman words and phrases for your next game.

Top Tips for Picking Good Hangman Phrases

Challenge opponents using words with very few vowels like “rhythm,” “psst,” and “crypt.”
Stump players using uncommon consonants like L, Z, and Q (for example, “jazz,” “quiz,” and “jinx”).
Make other players laugh with silly phrases like “brouhaha” and “cattywampus.”

Section 1 of 6:

Difficult Hangman Words

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1
Choose phrases with few vowels to stump your opponent. Most of the time when you're playing Hangman, your opponent will guess vowels first because they’re common in words—using up to five guesses. If a Hangman phrase has very few (or no) vowels, they’ll have a harder time figuring out the word. Just make sure they’re a good sport—some of these secret words will be frustrating to decipher.^{[1]
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- No Vowels
  - Cwm (Welsh use of ‘W’)
  - Crwth (Welsh use of ‘W’)
  - TV
  - Shh
  - Psst
  - Hmm
  - PST (time zone)
  - Nth
  - Brr
- Few Vowels^{[2]
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  - Hymn
  - Lynx
  - Myth
  - Sphynx
  - Rhythm
  - Sync
  - Flysch
  - Ghylls
  - Sylphs
  - Syzygy
  - Crypt
  - Glyph
  - Myrrh
  - Nymph
  - Slyly
  - Wryly
  - Tryst
  - Fly
  - Gym
2
Pick phrases with uncommon consonants like J, Q, X, and Z. These are generally agreed to be the rarest letters in the English language. Use phrases with these letters in your Hangman game to make your opponent go through more common consonants before uncovering a letter.^{[3]
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- Quiz
- Fizz
- Buzz
- Jinx
- Fuzz
- Jink
- Haze
- Hajj
- Vex
- Fox
- Apex
- Affix
- Annex
- Axel
- Coccyx
- Lax
- Junk
- Jazz
- Razz
- Buzzing
- Zit
- Zine
- Zap
- Zinc
- Dizzy
- Jiff
- Zigzag
- Quest
- Quaff
- Qualm
- Query
- Quietude
- Quip
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3
Challenge players with phrases that have unusual letter combinations. Think of words that put together letters you don’t normally see together—like ‘ph,’ ‘phth,’ and ‘yt.’ Even if your opponent uncovers some letters, they’ll have a hard time guessing the whole word from these uncommon letter combos.^{[4]
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- Diphthong
- Diphtheria
- Ophthalmologist
- Ytterbium
- Myth
- Byte
- Oocyte
- Acolyte
- Flytrap
- Anytime
- Umph
- Phoo
- Phial
- Morph
- Aphid
- Tip: Use Merriam-Webster’s Word Finder tool to look up words with any letter combination you can think of. Set your search filters to “Any Words” and “Containing in order” for the most accurate results.

Section 2 of 6:

Unique Hangman Phrases

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Stump players with uncommon words and phrases. No matter which letters you guess correctly in Hangman, your guess to solve the puzzle will be limited to words you know. Challenge opponents by choosing secret phrases that aren’t common. As long as they know ahead of time—and they’re up for the task—it can be a way to expand both of your vocabularies!^{[5]
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- Biblioklept
- Nauseant
- Addend
- Agelast
- Peristeronic
- Hibernal^{[6]
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- Subnivean
- Sitzmark
- Primaveral
- Solivagant^{[7]
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- Filipendulous
- Jentacular
- Catillate
- Bellycheer
- Avidulous^{[8]
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- Retrogradation
- Spinous
- Illaudable
- Grimoire
- Fantod
- Dyspathy
- Orgulous
- Dilapidator
- Crimpy
- Jubilarian

Section 3 of 6:

Funny Hangman Phrases

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Pick a funny phrase or word to make your opponent laugh. Recall words or phrases you’ve heard that made you crack a smile—they just sounded silly without any context. These are fun terms to try in a Hangman game, as your opponent will eventually have to read the humorous phrase aloud. Because of their unserious nature, they may also be uncommon, making them difficult to guess.^{[9]
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- Flibbertigibbet
- Mollycoddle
- Dingus
- Doohickey
- Ballyhoo
- Fuddy-duddy
- Sozzled
- Bumfuzzled
- Foppish
- Brouhaha
- Gobbledygook
- Jackanapes
- Ragamuffin
- Cattywampus
- Slumgullion
- Hullabaloo
- Ill-willie
- Hogwash
- Unperson
- Taradiddle^{[10]
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- Widdershins
- Highfalutin^{[11]
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- Slantindicular
- Bodacious
- Jimberjawed
- Canoodle

Section 4 of 6:

Hangman Phrases for Kids

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Help children play Hangman using Fry’s instant words. These instant sight words are high-frequency words that Dr. Edward Fry assessed as commonly encountered by children when reading. Practicing reading these words can help children improve their speed and accuracy as they read. Use these phrases in your game, or consult the full list for more options.^{[12]
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- Down by the water
- Tell the truth
- Around the clock
- Think before you act
- Any old time
- It’s a small world
- Read between the lines
- Always be kind
- In the big city
- Leave it to me
- First day of school
- Ever since I knew you
- It happened today
- We need more space
- What happened here?
- Twenty-four hours a day
- Against all odds
- Tried and true
- Go figure
- Today was better
- Who brought the cake?
- My circle of friends
- Twelve inches to a foot
- What’s the difference?
- I believe in you
- Tip: Swap the hanged man (and name of the game) for a snowman or flower to make it more child-friendly when playing at home or at school.^{[13]
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Section 5 of 6:

What's the hardest word in Hangman?

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The hardest Hangman word is "jazz." In 2010, mathematician Jon McLoone calculated that jazz is the hardest Hangman word to guess after simulating 50 games for each word from a 90,000-word dictionary. "Jazz" was missed by the guesser’s algorithm the most.^{[14]
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- He theorized that this was because "jazz" was both a short word, meaning there were fewer possible correct letters to guess, and because it contained the low-frequency letters ‘j’ and ‘z’.

Section 6 of 6:

Tips for Picking Good Hangman Phrases

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1
Use a random word or phrase generator. Cure a creative dry spell by letting an algorithm pick your secret word or phrase. Because it’s random, the generated phrase has less of a chance of being familiar to you and the other player. Run the generator a few times to find a difficult word with infrequent letters, few vowels, or many similar letters.
- For example, The Word Finder lets you generate a number of short or long phrases to use in your game.
2
Set boundaries on how obscure phrases can be. Trying to stump someone with uncommon, archaic, or ridiculous words and phrases is fun—but it also affects how fair the game feels to play. Before playing, ask if the other player or players are okay with guessing obscure words or if they’d rather stick to familiar ones.
- Apply the same rules no matter who’s making up the secret word or phrase and who’s guessing.
To make the game more equitable, alternate between common and uncommon words and phrases. For example, start with a familiar word like “balloon,” then challenge them to guess “quietude.” You can also work your way up from easy words to obscure ones—and if you’re keeping score, make harder phrases worth more points.
While it might feel counterintuitive, shorter words can be harder to guess in a game of Hangman. Think of it this way: there are more 4- and 5-letter words than there are 9-letter words. Short words mean fewer possible correct guesses, forcing your opponent to run through many letters before they land on one that’s in the secret phrase.^{[15]
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Subscribe to a dictionary’s word-of-the-day newsletter. Skim through the dictionary for interesting letter combinations or funny-sounding phrases. Or, watch Wheel of Fortune, which is based on the game Hangman, for more inspiration. Themed Hangman games (like those on the show) can be even more fun!

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