MyAnagramSolver

Dictionary Methodology
How Words Are Validated and Included

A word appears in the MyAnagramSolver database if and only if it appears in the TWL, Collins Scrabble Words, or the British English supplement. No editorial judgement. No independent validation. Full transparency on inclusions and exclusions.

Three Source Lists No Independent Additions Fingerprint: 916f47949b41 Reproducible

Validation Principle — Source List Membership

Word validity on this site is determined exclusively by membership in the source word lists. If a word appears in the TWL, Collins Scrabble Words, or the British English vocabulary supplement, it is in the database. If it appears in none of these sources, it is absent — regardless of whether it appears in other dictionaries, Wikipedia, or common usage.

This approach has clear advantages: it is transparent, reproducible, and consistent. It also has clear limitations: the tool reflects the judgements of three external word list authorities, not an independent editorial assessment of what constitutes a valid English word. Words that some readers consider valid may be absent; words that some readers consider obscure may be present. The source list membership is the sole criterion.

TWL vs Collins — Important Differences

The TWL and Collins Scrabble Words differ substantially. Collins accepts approximately 100,000 more words than TWL. Key difference categories include: archaic English vocabulary (accepted in Collins, excluded from TWL); British English forms not common in American usage (Collins includes, TWL generally excludes); highly technical or specialized vocabulary (more liberal in Collins); and words from certain English dialects spoken outside the US and Canada.

For competitive players: words valid in North American tournament Scrabble are a subset of words valid in international tournament Scrabble. A word appearing in this tool's results may be Collins-only — valid internationally but not in North American tournaments. If you are playing in a North American tournament and a word is challenged, verify against the official TWL checker rather than relying on this tool alone.

Common Inclusion and Exclusion Cases

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Two-letter Scrabble words are included

AA (a type of lava), AB (abdominal muscle), QI (life force in Chinese philosophy), ZA (informal for pizza), and other two-letter words valid in one or more source lists are included. These words are specifically part of competitive Scrabble word lists and serve a functional game purpose.

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Proper nouns are excluded

Personal names, country names, brand names, and other proper nouns are excluded from all three source lists and therefore absent from the database. LONDON, GOOGLE, SHAKESPEARE do not appear. Some borderline cases (words derived from proper nouns that have entered common usage) may appear if the source lists include them.

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Inflected forms are included as separate entries

PLAY, PLAYS, PLAYED, PLAYING, PLAYER, and PLAYERS each appear as separate entries if each appears in the source lists. This treats inflection transparently rather than relying on a root-word lookup system. Some inflected forms may be missing if they did not appear in the source lists.

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Hyphenated words are excluded

Hyphenated forms (WELL-KNOWN, SELF-AWARE) are excluded from Scrabble word lists and therefore absent from the database. Unhyphenated compound words (SNOWBALL, FIREPLACE) appear if they are in the source lists.

Reporting Gaps and Errors

If you find a word that you believe should be in the database but is absent, or a word that is present but appears to be an error, use the contact page to submit a report. Each report is checked against the three source word lists. If the word is genuinely present in a source list and was inadvertently excluded, it will be added in the next database regeneration. If the word is not in any source list, it will not be added independently — the source list authority governs inclusion.

False positives (words present in the database that seem wrong) are typically explainable by one of three causes: the word appears in Collins Scrabble Words but not in everyday usage (archaic or regional vocabulary); the word is a valid inflected form of a root word; or the word is a two-letter Scrabble word that serves a competitive game function. In all these cases, the inclusion is correct by the source list criterion even if the word seems unfamiliar.

Handling Ambiguous Cases — Where Judgment Applies

The vast majority of database inclusions are clear: the word appears in a source list, so it is included. A small number of cases are less clear, and these are worth documenting. Abbreviations present one such case: BBQ, FAQ, IQ, ESQ, HQ appear in competitive Scrabble word lists despite being abbreviations rather than traditional words. The criterion is source list membership, so they are included. Whether they constitute valid English words in a general sense is a separate question that the database does not attempt to answer.

Words with accented characters present another case. English has absorbed many words from French, Spanish, and other languages that retain their accented forms: CAFÉ, NAÏVE, RÉSUMÉ. These appear in standard dictionaries but may or may not appear in Scrabble word lists, which historically have been limited to standard ASCII characters in competitive play. The database includes a small number of accented words where they appear in the source lists. They represent under 200 entries out of 74,872.

Inflected forms of obscure words present a third case. A root word might be archaic (valid in Collins but rarely encountered in everyday use), and its inflected forms might also be in the word list. GONIF, GONIFS, GONIFF, GONIFFS — all valid in some word lists — appear as separate entries. The source list criterion applies equally to obscure forms: if each form appears in a source list, each is in the database.

Technical and scientific vocabulary occupies a final grey area. Some technical words (HAEMATOPOIESIS, DEOXYRIBONUCLEIC) are valid dictionary words but not Scrabble-legal due to length or origin restrictions. Where such words appear in any of the three source lists, they are included. Where they appear only in technical dictionaries not in the source lists, they are absent. The tool is not a comprehensive technical dictionary.

Quick Reference — Inclusion Criteria Summary

Included if present in TWL, Collins Scrabble Words, or British English supplement. Excluded: proper nouns (personal names, countries, most brands), hyphenated compounds, words from non-English languages not incorporated into English dictionaries, and words not appearing in any of the three source lists regardless of their presence in other reference works.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does MyAnagramSolver determine if a word is valid?

A word is considered valid if it appears in one or more of the three source word lists: the TWL (Tournament Word List), Collins Scrabble Words, or the British English vocabulary supplement. MyAnagramSolver does not independently validate words against general dictionaries. If a word is in one of the three sources, it is in the database. If it is not, it is absent regardless of whether it appears in other reference works.

Why might a common word be missing from the database?

Several scenarios explain why a familiar word might be absent: (1) it is a proper noun (names, brands, countries) excluded by all three source lists; (2) it is a very recent neologism not yet added to any source list; (3) it is a highly informal or slang term not recognised in Scrabble word lists; (4) it is a word from another language used in English text but not incorporated into English dictionaries; (5) it is a variant spelling not covered by any of the three sources.

Is there a difference between TWL valid and Collins valid?

Yes — a significant one. The TWL covers approximately 178,000 words for North American Scrabble. Collins Scrabble Words covers approximately 280,000 words internationally. Words in Collins but not TWL are valid in international tournaments but not North American ones. If you are playing in a North American Scrabble tournament, some words returned by this tool may not be permitted — cross-reference with the official TWL if tournament validity matters.

Does the tool tell me which source list a word comes from?

No. The tool shows all words matching your input without indicating which source list each comes from. Determining whether a specific word is TWL-valid or Collins-only requires checking an official Scrabble word checker for your jurisdiction.

Why do some very short words appear that seem too simple to be useful?

Two-letter and three-letter words (AA, AB, QI, XI, ZA and others) are valid in Scrabble word lists specifically because they are short plays that can extend existing board tiles. They may seem obscure in everyday use but are intentionally included in competitive Scrabble word lists because they serve a game function. Their presence in this database reflects their source list inclusion.

How are new words added to the database?

Words are added when the source word lists are updated. The TWL and Collins Scrabble Words are periodically revised by their respective governing organisations. When new editions or updates are released, the database is regenerated from the updated sources. The implementation fingerprint changes to reflect the new database state. The site does not independently add words between source list updates.

Can I report a missing word?

Yes — use the contact page to report a word that appears to be missing. Reports are reviewed against the three source word lists. If the word is absent from all three sources, it will not be added individually. If the word is present in a source and was inadvertently excluded, it will be added in the next database update.

How does the tool handle inflected forms of words?

Inflected forms (plurals, past tenses, comparative forms) are treated as separate words. PLAY, PLAYS, PLAYED, PLAYING, and PLAYER are each separate database entries if each form appears in the source lists. This means the tool returns all valid forms from a letter set, not just root forms. Searching ELISPAY returns PLAYS, YALP, PLAY, YAPS, LAYS, SPLAY, and other valid arrangements.

Are hyphenated words included?

Generally no. Hyphenated words are excluded from Scrabble word lists and therefore from the database. WELL-KNOWN, SELF-CONTAINED, and similar hyphenated forms do not appear. Non-hyphenated compound words (WELLKNOWN is not standard, but SNOWBALL, FIREPLACE, BEDROOM) appear as single entries if they are in the source lists.

What does word validity mean for general writing vs Scrabble?

For general writing, word validity means the word is recognised in standard dictionaries and acceptable in formal or informal English prose. For Scrabble, word validity is a binary rule determined by the applicable word list — the word either appears in the list or it does not. Some words valid for general writing are not Scrabble-legal, and some Scrabble-legal words (archaic, technical, highly obscure) are not commonly used in writing. This tool's database is optimised for Scrabble validity while being broadly useful for general word exploration.

Dictionary MethodologyHow Words Are Validated and Included