Hangman words
Funny Hangman Words
Real words that sound ridiculous, from kerfuffle to hullabaloo, ready to play as hangman online or print with an answer key.
Read the word list
Some words are funny before you know what they mean. Kerfuffle, hullabaloo and nincompoop all sound like something a cartoon character would shout, and every one of them is a real English word with a real dictionary entry. That makes this list a good choice when a group is tired and needs a reason to laugh while they spell.
The list leans on long, bouncy words with repeated letters, because those are easy to enjoy and surprisingly easy to guess: gobbledygook has three o's and two g's, so one good guess fills a lot of the grid. The sneaky ones are the unusual short words such as kibosh and wombat, where a player who opens with vowels finds little to go on. Mixed in are a few older oddities like balderdash and poppycock that even confident adult players may not have used in years.
45 entries. Our solver needed 5.0 wrong guesses on average: 0 easy, 2 medium and 1 hard. The toughest is kazoo (8 misses), the quickest noodle (3).
- kerfuffle
- gobbledygook
- bamboozle
- flabbergasted
- hullabaloo
- nincompoop
- discombobulate
- hootenanny
- shenanigans
- malarkey
- balderdash
- hodgepodge
- gobsmacked
- brouhaha
- kibosh
- razzmatazz
- poppycock
- tomfoolery
- wobble
- squiggle
- wombat
- noodle Medium · 3
- giggle Medium · 4
- hiccup
- zigzag
- jiggle
- cuckoo
- baloney
- hogwash
- humdinger
- bonkers
- kazoo Hard · 8
- ballyhoo
- flapdoodle
- pandemonium
- hubbub
- rumpus
- lickety split
- willy nilly
- hoity toity
- topsy turvy
- hocus pocus
- super duper
- razzle dazzle
- hunky dory
Words worth a closer look
- kerfuffleA commotion or fuss. It has a double f and a double u in the middle, and players often forget the second f when they spell it back.
- gobbledygookConfusing, over-complicated language. At twelve letters with three o's, a guess of o early in the round fills the grid fast.
- wombatA real Australian marsupial, not an invented silly word. Short and with a w that few players try first, so it lasts longer than it looks.
- hullabalooA loud uproar. It has three a's and a double l, so a and l fill several blanks after a couple of guesses.
- kiboshUsually met in the phrase put the kibosh on, meaning to put a stop to something. The k and the sh are the hard part.
- bamboozleTo trick or confuse someone. The z and the double o give a quick hit for players who guess the rarer letters.
How to use this list
Use this list at the end of a lesson or at a family table when you want a lighter round. After each word is solved, ask the group to say what they think it means before you tell them. The wrong guesses are often funnier than the answers.
For a classroom, give each pair a printed sheet and ask them to pick the three words they would most like to use in a sentence this week, then share one aloud. Younger players do well with jiggle, noodle and zigzag, while older students can take on discombobulate.
Print a Funny Hangman worksheet
Eight puzzles on one US Letter page, with a clue, letter blanks, an empty frame to draw in, an alphabet strip to cross off and circles to count misses. Page two is the answer key.
Need another sheet?
Draw eight different words from this list, right here. Same layout, new answer key.
Keep going
- Funny Hangman PhrasesSilly, family-friendly phrases and tongue twisters for hangman, from pickled pepper party to snoring snowman. Play online or print a sheet.
- Good Hangman WordsGood hangman words for everyday play: common five to eight letter words that take three to five wrong guesses, so rounds are close without being cruel.
- Hangman Words for KidsConcrete, picture-able words for K to grade 3 hangman, from cat and hat to rabbit and teacher. Play online or print a sheet with an answer key.
- Hangman Words for AdultsHard but real vocabulary for grown-up hangman, from quixotic to onomatopoeia. Play online or print a sheet with an answer key for game night.
- Easy Hangman WordsEasy hangman words that guessers solve in a guess or two: common five to eight letter words with frequent letters. Play online or print the list.
- Hardest Hangman WordsThe hardest hangman words in everyday English, ranked by how many wrong guesses a sensible player makes. Play the list online or print it.