Definery: Vocabulary Word Game

Definery is a vocabulary game for adults who like words. You are shown a definition and four words. Pick the one that matches — then find out where that word came from.

The etymology is the point. Most word games show you a definition and move on. Definery ends every question with the word's origin and something worth knowing: desultory comes from the Roman circus rider who leapt between moving horses, and halcyon days were once literal — the halcyon was a kingfisher that sailors believed nested on the open sea at midwinter, calming the water while it brooded.

A VOCABULARY BUILDER THAT PLAYS LIKE A GAME

93% of the word bank sits at medium or hard — acquiesce, ephemeral, ubiquitous, abstruse, alacrity, sesquipedalian. The easy tier is deliberately thin. This is advanced English vocabulary for adults, not a children's spelling app.

Difficulty adapts as you play. Two right answers in a row move you up a tier and two wrong move you down, so you are never stuck on words you already know.

THREE MODES

Endless — play until you lose three lives.
Timed — as many as you can in sixty seconds, adjustable in Settings.
Practice — no lives, no penalties, nothing at stake.

WORD ORIGINS AFTER EVERY ANSWER

Right or wrong, every question ends with the word's pronunciation, part of speech, an example sentence, its etymology and a note. Feckless is Scots for "without effect". Juggernaut reached English from Sanskrit by way of a temple cart. Nadir and zenith are an astronomical pair borrowed from Arabic.

Star any word to keep it.

372 WORDS, WRITTEN PROPERLY

Every word carries a pronunciation, a definition, example sentences, an etymology and a did-you-know. More words arrive in updates.

No two words in the same difficulty tier mean the same thing. Garrulous, loquacious and verbose are each defined so you can tell them apart, which means a wrong answer is genuinely wrong rather than a coin toss between synonyms. The four options always come from the same tier, so a hard word is never given away by three easy ones.

A WORD BANK YOU BUILD BY PLAYING

Every word you meet is tracked, from Learning to Mastered. The word bank is a personal glossary in alphabetical order, with definitions, built entirely out of the words you have played.

SOMETHING TO COME BACK FOR

Levels from Novice to Lexicon Master. A daily streak with a calendar. Seventeen achievements. Coins earned by playing and spent on hints — coins cannot be bought.

THE WHOLE GAME IS FREE

Every mode, every word and every feature is in the free version. Nothing is locked, there are no word packs and there is no daily limit.

Definery Pro is one purchase that removes the ads. That is all it does, and it is not a subscription.

Ads are kept out of the way: never during a question.

NO ACCOUNT. NO CONNECTION.

Nothing to sign up for and nothing to sign in to. The whole vocabulary game works offline and your progress stays on your device.

Dark mode throughout. Sound, haptics and the etymology card can each be switched off.

A word game, a vocabulary builder and a small dictionary in your pocket.