How to use the word generator
- Type how many words you want, from 1 to 50.
- If you like, choose a part of speech (nouns, verbs or adjectives) and a level (easy, medium or hard). Leave them on Any to use the whole list.
- Keep "No repeats" ticked for a list where every word is different. Untick it if a word may come up twice.
- Press Generate. Then press Copy list to paste the words somewhere else, or "Spin these on the wheel" to let the wheel choose one of them.
The generator picks from 951 everyday English words. It makes a fresh list of 10 each time you open the page, so you can start straight away.
Drawing prompts and guessing games
A random noun makes a quick drawing prompt. Generate one and draw it in a minute, or generate two and draw them together in one picture. Artists use the same trick to warm up before bigger work.
For a Pictionary-style guessing game, split into two teams. One player takes a random noun or verb and draws it with no letters or numbers, and their team guesses before the timer runs out. Easy nouns suit young players, while medium and hard words keep adults busy.
Writing warm-ups
- Three-word story: generate three words and write a short story that uses all of them.
- Five-minute free write: take one word and write about it without stopping for five minutes.
- Describe it: generate an adjective and a noun, and write a paragraph about the thing they make together.
- Poem starter: begin every line of a short poem with a random verb.
Vocabulary games in class
Teachers use random words for spelling tests, word walls and quick quizzes. Choose a level that suits the class, generate ten words, and ask students to sort them into nouns, verbs and adjectives, or to use each one in a sentence. With the hard level, ask what each word means before anyone opens a dictionary.
On a projector, the word wheel turns this into a game. Press Full screen under the wheel and spin, and the word shows in big letters that the back row can read.
Team names and other ideas
Need names for teams or groups? Generate an adjective and a noun and put them together for a team name with a ring to it. The random team generator can then split the players into teams. Random words also help with charades, twenty questions, naming a game character and getting a quiet group talking.
Using the word wheel
The wheel starts with a mix of twelve words from across the list. The quick lists above the entry box load all the nouns, verbs or adjectives, or every word at one level. With hundreds of words on the wheel, the slices are too thin for labels, but the picked word always shows clearly in the pop-up. You can also type your own words into the entry box, one per line, such as this week's spelling list, and save the wheel from the Saved tab.
Our own list, picked fairly
We wrote the word list ourselves for classroom use, and where it comes from is shown under the wheel. Every word that matches your choices has the same chance, and the picks come from your browser's built-in secure random numbers, so nothing you do here is sent to us. For a single random letter instead of a whole word, try the letter wheel.