10 hard word search puzzles for adults
Each 20 × 20 grid hides 30 words that run in every direction, backwards too, among near misses made from the puzzle's own letters. Solve on screen, or print one to a page with its answer key.
Solve one on screen
Words run in any direction, backwards too. Tap a word's first letter, then its last.
Stuck? Tap a word in the list to see where it starts.
Tap the first letter of a word, then its last.
10 puzzles · Hard word searches for adults · answers included
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- 1
Hard word search 1: In the kitchen. Find the 30 words in the list under the grid. They run in any direction, backwards too, and some share letters.
A 20 by 20 grid of letters hiding 30 words about in the kitchen.
- Baste
- Blanch
- Braise
- Broil
- Caramelize
- Cleaver
- Colander
- Cure
- Dice
- Flambe
- Glaze
- Grill
- Julienne
- Knead
- Ladle
- Marinate
- Mince
- Poach
- Puree
- Ramekin
- Reduce
- Roast
- Sear
- Sieve
- Simmer
- Skillet
- Spatula
- Steam
- Whisk
- Zest
Solve it on screenhard
Hint: Start with CARAMELIZE, the longest word at 10 letters: it begins in row 15.
Answer1. BASTE: row 8, column 18, right to left 2. BLANCH: row 15, column 17, up to the left 3. BRAISE: row 6, column 5, up to the right 4. BROIL: row 16, column 20, down to the left 5. CARAMELIZE: row 15, column 19, up to the left 6. CLEAVER: row 5, column 12, down to the left 7. COLANDER: row 14, column 1, up 8. CURE: row 17, column 3, across 9. DICE: row 20, column 20, right to left 10. FLAMBE: row 13, column 16, down 11. GLAZE: row 20, column 10, right to left 12. GRILL: row 8, column 11, up to the right 13. JULIENNE: row 13, column 14, down 14. KNEAD: row 13, column 8, down 15. LADLE: row 9, column 15, down to the right 16. MARINATE: row 10, column 11, up to the right 17. MINCE: row 6, column 8, up to the left 18. POACH: row 8, column 4, down to the right 19. PUREE: row 5, column 9, up to the left 20. RAMEKIN: row 16, column 7, up to the left 21. REDUCE: row 9, column 7, up to the left 22. ROAST: row 10, column 15, down to the right 23. SEAR: row 2, column 13, down 24. SIEVE: row 17, column 9, across 25. SIMMER: row 1, column 14, right to left 26. SKILLET: row 15, column 12, up to the left 27. SPATULA: row 12, column 2, down to the right 28. STEAM: row 5, column 20, down 29. WHISK: row 16, column 1, down to the right 30. ZEST: row 11, column 20, down to the left
- 2
Hard word search 2: World capitals. Find the 30 words in the list under the grid. They run in any direction, backwards too, and some share letters.
A 20 by 20 grid of letters hiding 30 words about world capitals.
- Accra
- Ankara
- Athens
- Bangkok
- Bogota
- Budapest
- Cairo
- Canberra
- Dakar
- Dublin
- Hanoi
- Havana
- Helsinki
- Kathmandu
- Lima
- Lisbon
- Madrid
- Manila
- Nairobi
- Oslo
- Ottawa
- Prague
- Quito
- Reykjavik
- Santiago
- Seoul
- Tehran
- Vienna
- Warsaw
- Wellington
Solve it on screenhard
Hint: Start with WELLINGTON, the longest word at 10 letters: it begins in row 16.
Answer1. ACCRA: row 12, column 13, down to the right 2. ANKARA: row 2, column 18, down 3. ATHENS: row 2, column 7, across 4. BANGKOK: row 6, column 3, down to the right 5. BOGOTA: row 1, column 5, across 6. BUDAPEST: row 5, column 11, right to left 7. CAIRO: row 20, column 14, across 8. CANBERRA: row 18, column 6, across 9. DAKAR: row 3, column 13, down to the right 10. DUBLIN: row 15, column 8, right to left 11. HANOI: row 20, column 1, up 12. HAVANA: row 12, column 15, up 13. HELSINKI: row 11, column 20, up 14. KATHMANDU: row 14, column 4, up to the right 15. LIMA: row 4, column 12, down to the right 16. LISBON: row 13, column 20, down 17. MADRID: row 12, column 16, up 18. MANILA: row 15, column 14, right to left 19. NAIROBI: row 14, column 2, up to the right 20. OSLO: row 9, column 17, down 21. OTTAWA: row 4, column 9, right to left 22. PRAGUE: row 8, column 9, up to the right 23. QUITO: row 17, column 16, right to left 24. REYKJAVIK: row 3, column 3, across 25. SANTIAGO: row 17, column 19, up to the left 26. SEOUL: row 15, column 18, up 27. TEHRAN: row 1, column 16, right to left 28. VIENNA: row 13, column 8, across 29. WARSAW: row 14, column 8, across 30. WELLINGTON: row 16, column 16, right to left
- 3
Hard word search 3: Music terms. Find the 30 words in the list under the grid. They run in any direction, backwards too, and some share letters.
A 20 by 20 grid of letters hiding 30 words about music terms.
- Adagio
- Allegro
- Andante
- Aria
- Arpeggio
- Cadence
- Chord
- Coda
- Concerto
- Crescendo
- Duet
- Fermata
- Forte
- Fugue
- Largo
- Legato
- Minuet
- Octave
- Overture
- Presto
- Quartet
- Rondo
- Sonata
- Staccato
- Symphony
- Tempo
- Timbre
- Treble
- Trio
- Vibrato
Solve it on screenhard
Hint: Start with CRESCENDO, the longest word at 9 letters: it begins in row 17.
Answer1. ADAGIO: row 7, column 20, right to left 2. ALLEGRO: row 20, column 16, up to the left 3. ANDANTE: row 16, column 5, across 4. ARIA: row 15, column 8, up 5. ARPEGGIO: row 15, column 19, up to the left 6. CADENCE: row 8, column 20, right to left 7. CHORD: row 13, column 10, across 8. CODA: row 9, column 1, up to the right 9. CONCERTO: row 12, column 1, up 10. CRESCENDO: row 17, column 9, right to left 11. DUET: row 2, column 15, down to the right 12. FERMATA: row 15, column 17, up to the left 13. FORTE: row 19, column 3, across 14. FUGUE: row 11, column 14, down to the right 15. LARGO: row 4, column 1, down to the right 16. LEGATO: row 16, column 13, across 17. MINUET: row 6, column 20, up to the left 18. OCTAVE: row 3, column 13, right to left 19. OVERTURE: row 19, column 4, up 20. PRESTO: row 1, column 7, across 21. QUARTET: row 6, column 12, across 22. RONDO: row 18, column 7, across 23. SONATA: row 13, column 6, up 24. STACCATO: row 10, column 4, across 25. SYMPHONY: row 6, column 11, down to the right 26. TEMPO: row 2, column 6, right to left 27. TIMBRE: row 4, column 8, right to left 28. TREBLE: row 15, column 20, up 29. TRIO: row 4, column 11, across 30. VIBRATO: row 7, column 6, up to the right
- 4
Hard word search 4: Weather and sky. Find the 30 words in the list under the grid. They run in any direction, backwards too, and some share letters.
A 20 by 20 grid of letters hiding 30 words about weather and sky.
- Aurora
- Barometer
- Blizzard
- Breeze
- Cirrus
- Cumulus
- Cyclone
- Dewpoint
- Drizzle
- Drought
- Equinox
- Forecast
- Frost
- Gale
- Hail
- Haze
- Heatwave
- Humidity
- Jetstream
- Lightning
- Mist
- Monsoon
- Nimbus
- Rainbow
- Sleet
- Solstice
- Squall
- Stratus
- Thunder
- Tornado
Solve it on screenhard
Hint: Start with BAROMETER, the longest word at 9 letters: it begins in row 18.
Answer1. AURORA: row 10, column 15, down to the right 2. BAROMETER: row 18, column 7, across 3. BLIZZARD: row 12, column 8, up to the right 4. BREEZE: row 15, column 10, right to left 5. CIRRUS: row 4, column 6, down to the left 6. CUMULUS: row 14, column 14, up 7. CYCLONE: row 17, column 14, across 8. DEWPOINT: row 4, column 18, right to left 9. DRIZZLE: row 20, column 11, across 10. DROUGHT: row 2, column 12, across 11. EQUINOX: row 19, column 18, right to left 12. FORECAST: row 3, column 20, down 13. FROST: row 12, column 19, up 14. GALE: row 15, column 2, down 15. HAIL: row 4, column 1, down 16. HAZE: row 2, column 3, across 17. HEATWAVE: row 3, column 10, across 18. HUMIDITY: row 12, column 16, up 19. JETSTREAM: row 17, column 11, right to left 20. LIGHTNING: row 2, column 9, down to the left 21. MIST: row 17, column 3, up 22. MONSOON: row 8, column 11, down to the left 23. NIMBUS: row 13, column 4, up to the right 24. RAINBOW: row 16, column 8, across 25. SLEET: row 7, column 11, up to the left 26. SOLSTICE: row 12, column 2, up to the right 27. SQUALL: row 8, column 13, down 28. STRATUS: row 8, column 7, down to the left 29. THUNDER: row 3, column 7, right to left 30. TORNADO: row 1, column 12, across
- 5
Hard word search 5: Birdwatching. Find the 30 words in the list under the grid. They run in any direction, backwards too, and some share letters.
A 20 by 20 grid of letters hiding 30 words about birdwatching.
- Blackbird
- Bluejay
- Cardinal
- Chickadee
- Crow
- Eagle
- Egret
- Falcon
- Finch
- Grosbeak
- Hawk
- Heron
- Hummingbird
- Junco
- Kingfisher
- Magpie
- Meadowlark
- Mockingbird
- Nuthatch
- Oriole
- Osprey
- Pelican
- Raven
- Robin
- Sparrow
- Swallow
- Tanager
- Warbler
- Woodpecker
- Wren
Solve it on screenhard
Hint: Start with HUMMINGBIRD, the longest word at 11 letters: it begins in row 19.
Answer1. BLACKBIRD: row 17, column 12, up 2. BLUEJAY: row 3, column 10, down to the left 3. CARDINAL: row 1, column 19, down to the left 4. CHICKADEE: row 3, column 13, down to the left 5. CROW: row 17, column 14, up to the right 6. EAGLE: row 18, column 1, across 7. EGRET: row 9, column 13, across 8. FALCON: row 15, column 15, up 9. FINCH: row 13, column 13, down 10. GROSBEAK: row 6, column 18, down 11. HAWK: row 1, column 7, right to left 12. HERON: row 10, column 14, down 13. HUMMINGBIRD: row 19, column 8, across 14. JUNCO: row 5, column 20, up 15. KINGFISHER: row 11, column 3, up to the right 16. MAGPIE: row 16, column 10, up 17. MEADOWLARK: row 8, column 11, down 18. MOCKINGBIRD: row 19, column 19, up 19. NUTHATCH: row 7, column 17, right to left 20. ORIOLE: row 20, column 10, right to left 21. OSPREY: row 1, column 18, down to the left 22. PELICAN: row 10, column 7, down 23. RAVEN: row 10, column 16, down 24. ROBIN: row 13, column 1, across 25. SPARROW: row 17, column 20, up 26. SWALLOW: row 2, column 5, across 27. TANAGER: row 1, column 16, right to left 28. WARBLER: row 10, column 1, up to the right 29. WOODPECKER: row 17, column 10, right to left 30. WREN: row 11, column 4, up to the right
- 6
Hard word search 6: Great painters. Find the 30 words in the list under the grid. They run in any direction, backwards too, and some share letters.
A 20 by 20 grid of letters hiding 30 words about great painters.
- Botticelli
- Caravaggio
- Cassatt
- Cezanne
- Constable
- Dali
- Degas
- Gauguin
- Goya
- Homer
- Hopper
- Kahlo
- Klimt
- Manet
- Matisse
- Miro
- Monet
- Munch
- Picasso
- Pollock
- Raphael
- Rembrandt
- Renoir
- Rothko
- Seurat
- Titian
- Turner
- Velazquez
- Vermeer
- Whistler
Solve it on screenhard
Hint: Start with BOTTICELLI, the longest word at 10 letters: it begins in row 20.
Answer1. BOTTICELLI: row 20, column 2, up to the right 2. CARAVAGGIO: row 1, column 11, down to the left 3. CASSATT: row 8, column 13, up to the right 4. CEZANNE: row 17, column 6, up to the right 5. CONSTABLE: row 1, column 11, right to left 6. DALI: row 9, column 17, down to the left 7. DEGAS: row 19, column 6, up to the left 8. GAUGUIN: row 6, column 10, down to the left 9. GOYA: row 3, column 3, across 10. HOMER: row 14, column 1, up to the right 11. HOPPER: row 19, column 19, right to left 12. KAHLO: row 13, column 5, down to the left 13. KLIMT: row 13, column 13, across 14. MANET: row 2, column 12, across 15. MATISSE: row 3, column 13, down to the right 16. MIRO: row 6, column 11, up 17. MONET: row 13, column 6, up to the right 18. MUNCH: row 11, column 9, down to the left 19. PICASSO: row 14, column 16, right to left 20. POLLOCK: row 20, column 8, across 21. RAPHAEL: row 12, column 1, up to the right 22. REMBRANDT: row 1, column 20, right to left 23. RENOIR: row 2, column 6, right to left 24. ROTHKO: row 20, column 15, across 25. SEURAT: row 7, column 11, down to the left 26. TITIAN: row 17, column 16, right to left 27. TURNER: row 16, column 8, across 28. VELAZQUEZ: row 10, column 19, right to left 29. VERMEER: row 9, column 14, up to the right 30. WHISTLER: row 14, column 3, up to the right
- 7
Hard word search 7: Inventions and discoveries. Find the 30 words in the list under the grid. They run in any direction, backwards too, and some share letters.
A 20 by 20 grid of letters hiding 30 words about inventions and discoveries.
- Abacus
- Airplane
- Barometer
- Battery
- Bicycle
- Calculator
- Camera
- Compass
- Dynamite
- Elevator
- Engine
- Gyroscope
- Laser
- Lightbulb
- Microscope
- Parachute
- Penicillin
- Phonograph
- Radio
- Satellite
- Sonar
- Stethoscope
- Telephone
- Telescope
- Television
- Thermometer
- Transistor
- Typewriter
- Vaccine
- Zipper
Solve it on screenhard
Hint: Start with STETHOSCOPE, the longest word at 11 letters: it begins in row 20.
Answer1. ABACUS: row 18, column 7, across 2. AIRPLANE: row 8, column 2, up 3. BAROMETER: row 18, column 2, up 4. BATTERY: row 9, column 10, down to the right 5. BICYCLE: row 2, column 11, down to the right 6. CALCULATOR: row 10, column 18, down 7. CAMERA: row 14, column 12, up to the right 8. COMPASS: row 20, column 7, right to left 9. DYNAMITE: row 16, column 16, right to left 10. ELEVATOR: row 13, column 20, up 11. ENGINE: row 15, column 20, down 12. GYROSCOPE: row 19, column 10, right to left 13. LASER: row 3, column 14, down to the right 14. LIGHTBULB: row 10, column 13, up to the left 15. MICROSCOPE: row 15, column 5, across 16. PARACHUTE: row 4, column 16, down to the left 17. PENICILLIN: row 2, column 7, down to the right 18. PHONOGRAPH: row 10, column 1, up 19. RADIO: row 1, column 7, down to the right 20. SATELLITE: row 13, column 7, up 21. SONAR: row 2, column 12, across 22. STETHOSCOPE: row 20, column 19, right to left 23. TELEPHONE: row 17, column 13, right to left 24. TELESCOPE: row 14, column 10, up to the right 25. TELEVISION: row 10, column 3, up 26. THERMOMETER: row 2, column 20, down to the left 27. TRANSISTOR: row 8, column 4, down 28. TYPEWRITER: row 1, column 10, across 29. VACCINE: row 14, column 6, up 30. ZIPPER: row 8, column 8, down
- 8
Hard word search 8: Travel. Find the 30 words in the list under the grid. They run in any direction, backwards too, and some share letters.
A 20 by 20 grid of letters hiding 30 words about travel.
- Arrival
- Backpack
- Boarding
- Campsite
- Cruise
- Currency
- Customs
- Departure
- Excursion
- Ferry
- Guidebook
- Hostel
- Itinerary
- Jetlag
- Journey
- Layover
- Luggage
- Passport
- Postcard
- Railway
- Resort
- Runway
- Sightseeing
- Souvenir
- Suitcase
- Sunscreen
- Terminal
- Ticket
- Visa
- Voyage
Solve it on screenhard
Hint: Start with SIGHTSEEING, the longest word at 11 letters: it begins in row 1.
Answer1. ARRIVAL: row 4, column 1, down 2. BACKPACK: row 11, column 20, right to left 3. BOARDING: row 19, column 12, right to left 4. CAMPSITE: row 18, column 11, right to left 5. CRUISE: row 7, column 18, right to left 6. CURRENCY: row 12, column 3, up 7. CUSTOMS: row 9, column 10, up 8. DEPARTURE: row 5, column 11, across 9. EXCURSION: row 20, column 7, across 10. FERRY: row 1, column 3, down 11. GUIDEBOOK: row 10, column 10, across 12. HOSTEL: row 15, column 7, across 13. ITINERARY: row 16, column 3, across 14. JETLAG: row 20, column 20, up 15. JOURNEY: row 4, column 19, right to left 16. LAYOVER: row 10, column 2, up 17. LUGGAGE: row 2, column 10, right to left 18. PASSPORT: row 7, column 5, down 19. POSTCARD: row 18, column 1, up 20. RAILWAY: row 4, column 20, down 21. RESORT: row 12, column 2, down 22. RUNWAY: row 1, column 15, across 23. SIGHTSEEING: row 1, column 14, right to left 24. SOUVENIR: row 17, column 11, across 25. SUITCASE: row 12, column 13, across 26. SUNSCREEN: row 5, column 4, down to the right 27. TERMINAL: row 9, column 12, across 28. TICKET: row 8, column 18, right to left 29. VISA: row 16, column 12, across 30. VOYAGE: row 19, column 14, across
- 9
Hard word search 9: Shakespeare. Find the 30 words in the list under the grid. They run in any direction, backwards too, and some share letters.
A 20 by 20 grid of letters hiding 30 words about shakespeare.
- Ariel
- Banquo
- Beatrice
- Benedick
- Caliban
- Cordelia
- Desdemona
- Falstaff
- Globe
- Hamlet
- Horatio
- Iago
- Juliet
- Lear
- Macbeth
- Malvolio
- Mercutio
- Oberon
- Ophelia
- Othello
- Portia
- Prospero
- Puck
- Romeo
- Rosalind
- Shylock
- Sonnet
- Titania
- Tybalt
- Viola
Solve it on screenhard
Hint: Start with DESDEMONA, the longest word at 9 letters: it begins in row 2.
Answer1. ARIEL: row 2, column 6, across 2. BANQUO: row 19, column 6, right to left 3. BEATRICE: row 8, column 4, down 4. BENEDICK: row 10, column 16, right to left 5. CALIBAN: row 6, column 17, right to left 6. CORDELIA: row 3, column 20, right to left 7. DESDEMONA: row 2, column 12, down to the left 8. FALSTAFF: row 11, column 16, down to the left 9. GLOBE: row 3, column 10, right to left 10. HAMLET: row 13, column 8, up to the left 11. HORATIO: row 13, column 8, down to the right 12. IAGO: row 14, column 2, down 13. JULIET: row 6, column 18, down 14. LEAR: row 20, column 20, right to left 15. MACBETH: row 7, column 10, across 16. MALVOLIO: row 20, column 10, right to left 17. MERCUTIO: row 12, column 18, down to the left 18. OBERON: row 13, column 15, down to the left 19. OPHELIA: row 9, column 19, down 20. OTHELLO: row 18, column 2, across 21. PORTIA: row 5, column 2, down 22. PROSPERO: row 11, column 5, up to the right 23. PUCK: row 11, column 10, down 24. ROMEO: row 3, column 5, right to left 25. ROSALIND: row 16, column 3, across 26. SHYLOCK: row 7, column 8, up to the left 27. SONNET: row 9, column 11, across 28. TITANIA: row 17, column 14, across 29. TYBALT: row 12, column 9, up to the left 30. VIOLA: row 6, column 9, up to the right
- 10
Hard word search 10: The gardener's year. Find the 30 words in the list under the grid. They run in any direction, backwards too, and some share letters.
A 20 by 20 grid of letters hiding 30 words about the gardener's year.
- Annual
- Aphid
- Biennial
- Border
- Bulb
- Cloche
- Compost
- Cutting
- Deadhead
- Espalier
- Germinate
- Greenhouse
- Hedge
- Humus
- Loam
- Mulch
- Perennial
- Pergola
- Pollinate
- Potting
- Pruning
- Rhizome
- Seedling
- Slug
- Topiary
- Topsoil
- Trellis
- Tuber
- Watering
- Xeriscape
Solve it on screenhard
Hint: Start with GREENHOUSE, the longest word at 10 letters: it begins in row 3.
Answer1. ANNUAL: row 13, column 18, right to left 2. APHID: row 16, column 20, right to left 3. BIENNIAL: row 14, column 19, up 4. BORDER: row 12, column 4, down 5. BULB: row 9, column 9, right to left 6. CLOCHE: row 19, column 19, right to left 7. COMPOST: row 2, column 8, across 8. CUTTING: row 18, column 19, right to left 9. DEADHEAD: row 14, column 11, across 10. ESPALIER: row 4, column 10, down to the right 11. GERMINATE: row 8, column 13, right to left 12. GREENHOUSE: row 3, column 9, across 13. HEDGE: row 6, column 18, down 14. HUMUS: row 20, column 18, right to left 15. LOAM: row 20, column 11, right to left 16. MULCH: row 8, column 16, up to the left 17. PERENNIAL: row 19, column 10, up 18. PERGOLA: row 7, column 3, down to the right 19. POLLINATE: row 18, column 1, across 20. POTTING: row 3, column 8, right to left 21. PRUNING: row 8, column 1, down to the right 22. RHIZOME: row 11, column 18, up to the left 23. SEEDLING: row 13, column 8, up to the left 24. SLUG: row 5, column 7, across 25. TOPIARY: row 9, column 3, down to the right 26. TOPSOIL: row 10, column 13, right to left 27. TRELLIS: row 7, column 5, across 28. TUBER: row 5, column 17, down 29. WATERING: row 1, column 12, right to left 30. XERISCAPE: row 1, column 20, down
Timer and team scores
8 turns × 60 seconds = 8 minutes of play, plus instructions and breaks.
60
Pause whenever the group needs more time.
Team Lime's turn
Team Lime: 0
Team Violet: 0
Team Tangerine: 0
Team Sky: 0
Team Lemon: 0
Team Bubblegum: 0
Use this set with a group
Read a prompt, allow thinking time, then invite an answer or a pass. For a timed round, choose a turn length before starting. A host can keep the printed answers out of view until the round ends.