Words With No Vowels
There are 121 words in this list; 67 of them are common words.
Type your own letters to find only the words you can make, or leave it empty to open this list in the word finder.
This is the complete set of words in our dictionary that contain none of the five standard vowels. Many of them use Y as a vowel sound, such as MYTH, GYPSY, RHYTHM and SYZYGY, which is often cited as the longest common example. Others have no vowel sound at all and are really written-down noises or abbreviations that dictionaries have accepted, like BRR, HMM, PST and TSK. For tile games these words are a lifeline when the vowels have all been played and your rack is nothing but consonants. For puzzles they are a curiosity worth knowing, because a five-letter word with no vowels defeats most people on the first attempt. The list is short enough to read in full, and the words are sorted with the most familiar ones first so you can skip straight to the surprising ones.
All 121 words
7-letter words (3)
- rhythms18 points
- glycyls16 points
- tsktsks15 points
6-letter words (21)
- rhythm17 points
- nymphs16 points
- psychs16 points
- crypts13 points
- flybys17 points
- spryly14 points
- sylphs14 points
- trysts9 points
- synths12 points
- syzygy25 points
- glyphs15 points
- xylyls19 points
- flysch17 points
- sylphy17 points
- lymphs16 points
- glycyl15 points
- crwths14 points
- myrrhs14 points
- synchs14 points
- tsktsk14 points
- ghylls13 points
5-letter words (36)
- myths13 points
- lymph15 points
- nymph15 points
- psych15 points
- hymns13 points
- lynch13 points
- crypt12 points
- dryly12 points
- slyly11 points
- cysts10 points
- pygmy16 points
- gypsy14 points
- shyly14 points
- wryly14 points
- syncs10 points
- flyby16 points
- glyph14 points
- myrrh13 points
- sylph13 points
- tryst8 points
- synth11 points
- crwth13 points
- ghyll12 points
- xylyl18 points
- mythy16 points
- thymy16 points
- phpht15 points
- xysts15 points
- stymy13 points
- synch13 points
- syphs13 points
- typps12 points
- wynds12 points
- wynns11 points
- byrls10 points
- rynds9 points
4-letter words (27)
- myth12 points
- whys13 points
- hymn12 points
- gyms10 points
- cyst9 points
- spry9 points
- drys8 points
- gyps10 points
- sync9 points
- lynx14 points
- psst6 points
- cwms11 points
- wynd11 points
- wych15 points
- xyst14 points
- hyps12 points
- pfft12 points
- syph12 points
- typy12 points
- typp11 points
- wynn10 points
- wyns10 points
- byrl9 points
- scry9 points
- rynd8 points
- tsks8 points
- brrr6 points
3-letter words (29)
- why12 points
- fly9 points
- fry9 points
- cry8 points
- dry7 points
- try6 points
- sky10 points
- shy9 points
- thy9 points
- spy8 points
- gym9 points
- wry9 points
- ply8 points
- pry8 points
- sly6 points
- gyp9 points
- pyx15 points
- nth6 points
- sty6 points
- brr5 points
- hmm10 points
- shh9 points
- cwm10 points
- hyp11 points
- wyn9 points
- bys8 points
- pht8 points
- tsk7 points
- syn6 points
2-letter words (5)
- by7 points
- my7 points
- sh5 points
- hm7 points
- mm6 points
Quick facts
- Total words: 121
- By usage: 39 very common, 28 common, 54 rare
- Longest: rhythms, glycyls, tsktsks
- Shortest: by, my, sh, hm, mm
Highest scoring (classic tiles)
- syzygy 25
- xylyls 19
- rhythms 18
- xylyl 18
- flybys 17
- flysch 17
- rhythm 17
- sylphy 17
- flyby 16
- glycyls 16
Most common
- why
- fly
- fry
- cry
- by
- dry
- my
- try
- rhythm
- myths
Definitions
- why (noun)
- The cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase ‘the whys and wherefores’.
- fly (adjective)
- (British informal) not to be deceived or hoodwinked.
- fry (noun)
- A young person of either sex.
- cry (noun)
- A loud utterance; often in protest or opposition.
How to use this page
Start with the definitions if the words are unfamiliar, then read the list. For a specific rack, the search box filters the list to your letters instantly.
Tips
A balanced rack has roughly three vowels and four consonants, and a lopsided rack is the most common reason players get stuck. If you are drowning in vowels, look for the words on this page with the most vowels and use them to reset. If you have too many consonants, a word with a single vowel will do the same job. When you cannot find a decent play, it is often better to swap tiles or play a short word that dumps the surplus than to force a poor score and keep the bad rack.
Questions
What is the highest-scoring word among the words with no vowels?
SYZYGY scores 25 points with classic tile values, ignoring board multipliers. The full top ten is in the quick facts above; switch the tile set on the search tool if you play with different letter values.
Why are some of these words unfamiliar?
54 of the 121 words on this page are tagged rare, meaning they fall outside the usual spell-check vocabulary. They are still real words, and many are legal plays, but you should expect a challenge if someone asks you to define them.