How to Unscramble Words

Last Updated: March 29, 2025 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Ada Nicolle. Ada Nicolle is a crossword constructor based in Toronto, Canada. Ada specializes in themeless, pop culture crossword puzzles that reflect modern trends and Gen Z culture. She strives to represent people not often in mainstream crossword puzzles and the present moment. She created a crossword blog called Luckystreak Xwords and is also the author of “A-to-Gen Z Crosswords”, a collection of 72 crossword puzzles. Ada’s crossword puzzles have been published in Xtra, USA Today, Crossword Club, the Atlantic, and more.
This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources.
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   Pair letters that appear together frequently. Scan the letters for letters that frequently appear together in words. Look for pairs like "ch," "sh," "qu", and "ph." Jot these combinations down on a piece of scrap paper. They may be a key part of the final word.
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   Find prefixes and suffixes. Look for common prefixes and suffixes in your words. Common prefixes include things like "un-," "non-," "bi-," "co-," and so on. Common suffixes include things like "-ed", "-ing," "-er," and "-ate." [1] X Research source

   • Write out a number of prefixes and suffixes and play around with them while experimenting with different word combinations. Prefixes or suffixes may belong to a specific word or sentence.
   • For example, if you have the letters d, u, e, n, n, c, i, h, and a, notice the prefix "un." You can spell the word "unchained."
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   Look for one, two, or three letter words. Some word scrambles form sentences instead of a single word, so pick out any small words you can. You may find single letter words, like "a" or "I," as well as words like "to," "the," "at", and so on. Make a list of any short word you find that you may potentially use later.

   • Almost every sentence contains "the" at some point. If you're unscrambling a sentence, and you see a "t," "h," and "e," there's a good chance this will end up spelling "the."
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   Look at consonants and vowels separately. Make a list of all the consonants and then make a list of all the vowels. Experiment by placing consonants in front of different nouns to see if anything looks familiar. Also, be on the lookout for any common noun combinations such as "ou" and "ie."

   • For example, you may have the letters g, p, n, o, i, u, d, and n. If you separate the nouns (o, i, and u) you'll noticed the common pair "ou." You can slowly build around this to make the word "pounding."
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   Use tiles from board games to help you visualize. If you have a game like Bananagrams or Scrabble, break out the tiles when you're trying to solve a word scramble. It's easier to visualize potential words when you can freely use tiles to make different combinations.
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   Write letters in many different combinations. If you're stumped, just start making as many combinations as you can. Pair letters together randomly in pairs of two, three, or even four until something looks familiar.
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   Construct words around vowels. It can help to start with a familiar vowel combination and see if you can construct words around that. Write out something like "ou" and see if any of the existing letters can frame a word around that.[2] X Research source

   • For example, you have the letters me n, n, n, n, u, o, c, t, a, e, and e. Pair "ou" together and try adding random letters before and after it. You'll find you can make the word "noun," which falls in the middle of the word "announcement."
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   Remember "s" can come at the end of a word. If you have an "s" in your word scramble, it's easy to get stumped as you may forget it can come at the end of a word to make it plural. If you're not having any luck solving a problem, experiment by placing the "s" at the end of the word.[3] X Research source

   • Look at the letters v, a, e, w, s. You may recognize the "ve" pattern and spell something like "save." However, the "s" falls at the end of the word here, spelling, "waves."
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   Ask a friend for help. If you have a friend with a big vocabulary who loves word puzzles, enlist their help. Some word scrambles are extremely confusing. Having a friend assist you may help you solve them.
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   Use an online tool. If you absolutely can't find the solution, there are many tools online that you can use to unscramble words. Simply do an online search for "word scramble solvers" and punch the words into an online tool.[4] X Research source
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