The best Pictionary words are concrete things with a shape everyone recognizes, such as a lighthouse, a snowman or an umbrella, because the drawer has only one minute to sketch them. Below are 190 original Pictionary words sorted into easy, medium and hard, for kids, for adults, and by theme.
Every list here was written for this page, and each word has been checked against one simple test: could an average doodler get it across in 60 seconds without writing anything? Copy the lists, print them, or let the Random Word Generator draw words for you.
Easy Pictionary words
Easy words are single, everyday objects with an outline most people can draw in a few seconds. Use them for warm-up rounds, younger players, or anyone who swears they can't draw.
apple, banana, house, tree, sun, moon, star, cat
dog, fish, bird, car, boat, ball, cake, hat
shoe, key, clock, cup, chair, book, flower, snake
spider, rainbow, ladder, pizza, umbrella, snowman, candle, kite
Medium Pictionary words
Medium words are still things you can picture, but they need a second detail to tell them apart from something similar. A lighthouse is a tower until you add the beam; a penguin is a bird until you add the tuxedo. These make up most of a good game.
lighthouse, volcano, skateboard, octopus, backpack, toothbrush, sandcastle, windmill
cactus, headphones, campfire, parachute, penguin, giraffe, hammock, treasure chest
traffic light, roller coaster, igloo, scarecrow, telescope, mermaid, submarine, ice cream cone
haircut, bridge, waterfall, firefighter, dentist, spider web, tornado, hot-air balloon
Hard Pictionary words
Hard words are ideas, feelings and phrases with no single shape. Players have to build them from pieces: a clock plus a zigzag for jet lag, a sweating person on a stage for stage fright. They're where the funniest drawings come from, so save a few for later rounds.
gravity, jet lag, time travel, echo, sleepwalking, stock market, procrastination, applause
nostalgia, invisible, recycling, eclipse, electricity, deadline, brainstorm, evolution
hibernation, gossip, balance, Wi-Fi, hiccups, daydream, shadow, inflation
photosynthesis, autocorrect, stage fright, cold feet, comfort zone, gold medal
Pictionary words for kids
For children, keep words short, familiar and fun to draw. Animals, vehicles and storybook characters work well because kids already know what they look like. Most of the easy list above suits kids too.
ant, bee, bus, egg, frog, duck, crab
whale, train, robot, dragon, castle, pirate, crown
balloon, cupcake, dinosaur, unicorn, rocket, bubble, owl
turtle, sock, bed, slide, swing, teddy bear, watermelon
Pictionary words for adults
Adult players tend to enjoy words from everyday grown-up life: work, money, travel and technology. None of these need to be rude to get a laugh. Watching someone try to draw a mortgage is funny enough.
office party, jet ski, mortgage, awkward silence, group chat, road trip, midlife crisis
password, parallel parking, self-checkout, gym membership, spoiler alert, traffic jam, reply all
dad joke, first date, tax return, bucket list, lost luggage, power nap
Themed Pictionary words: holidays, office, movies and sports
Themed rounds are handy for parties and team events. Movie titles make a good hard category, since the drawer has to pick one scene or object that gives the film away (a shark fin for Jaws, a house held up by balloons for Up).
Holidays | Office | Movies | Sports |
|---|---|---|---|
Christmas tree | stapler | Jaws | surfing |
pumpkin | printer jam | Titanic | bowling |
fireworks | coffee mug | Frozen | archery |
Easter egg | sticky note | Up | golf |
snowflake | video call | Cars | skiing |
turkey | laptop | Toy Story | boxing |
reindeer | paper clip | Finding Nemo | tennis |
candy cane | swivel chair | Jurassic Park | diving |
menorah | water cooler | The Lion King | karate |
valentine | calendar | Star Wars | basketball |
stocking | elevator | Home Alone | relay race |
party hat | name badge | Ghostbusters | trampoline |
What makes a good Pictionary word?
Most lists online stop at the words. But a list only works if it fits the game, and the rules shape what's drawable. Here's what separates a great word from a dud.
It has a recognizable outline. An umbrella, a cactus or a lighthouse is identifiable from its silhouette alone.
It breaks into drawable parts. Mattel's rules let the drawer split a word into syllables and draw sound-alikes, such as a dock for "doc" (Mattel). So compound words like sandcastle, toothbrush and carpet (car plus pet) are fairer than they look.
It doesn't depend on letters or numbers. Writing letters and numbers is banned, so "Route 66" or "X-ray" becomes nearly impossible. Leave them out.
It isn't a near-twin of another word. Mug vs cup, or crocodile vs alligator, leads to arguments. Pick one, or accept both answers before you start.
Players know it. An obscure word isn't hard, it's just unguessable. If half the room hasn't heard of it, swap it.
How to play Pictionary
Pictionary was invented by Robert Angel and first published in 1985 (Wikipedia). The board game is now made by Mattel, and the rules below follow Mattel's instruction sheet for the standard edition (Mattel). Other editions vary, so check the sheet in your box.
Teams: split into equal teams, up to four. Mattel notes the game is quicker and more exciting with fewer teams and more players per team.
Turns: each team picks a Picturist, who looks at the word matching the color of the team's square and has one minute to sketch it. The Picturist changes with every new word.
Categories: the adult deck uses Object (yellow), Person/Place/Animal (blue), Action (orange), Difficult (green) and Miscellaneous (red). The junior deck prints its category at the top of each card.
Allowed: drawing anything related to the word, however loosely; breaking words into syllables; drawing sound-alikes.
Not allowed: letters or numbers, speaking to teammates, sign language, an "ear" for sounds-like, or dashes to show how many letters a word has.
Scoring: a correct guess lets the team roll again and keep going; a miss passes the die to the left. On All Play squares, every team guesses at the same time.
Winning: reach the final All Play square and be first to guess that word.
How to play Pictionary without the board game
You don't need the box to play. A whiteboard, some paper and a phone timer do the job. These are common house rules, not official ones, so agree on them before you start:
Split into two teams and write words on slips of paper, or pick a list from this page.
The drawer takes a word, shows it to nobody, and starts a 60-second timer.
Their team shouts guesses while they draw. No talking, letters or numbers from the drawer.
A correct guess scores a point. If time runs out, the other team gets one guess to steal it.
Swap drawers every turn. The first team to an agreed score, or the higher score after a set number of rounds, wins.
For video calls, share a digital whiteboard and send each word to the drawer in a private message. For a classroom, drawing on the board in front of everyone with the whole class guessing works like an All Play round.
How to use a random word generator for Pictionary
Writing slips takes time, and whoever writes them can't play fairly. A generator solves both problems. In our Random Word Generator:
Choose the Pictionary quick setup. It draws 12 nouns from the objects list, 3 to 10 letters long, since objects are the easiest things to draw in a minute.
Turn on Avoid this session's words so no word comes up twice in the same game.
For an action round, switch Word type to Verbs, or use the Charades setup, which draws action verbs.
To use the lists on this page, switch Source to My own list and paste them in. It keeps up to 5,000 items, and your list stays in your browser.
Type a seed, such as party-round-1, if you want the same words again later or on another device.
Want to sort a finished word list before printing it? The Alphabetize List tool will put it in A to Z order and strip duplicates, and there's a full guide on how to alphabetize a list.
Frequently asked questions
What are good words for Pictionary?
Concrete things with a recognizable shape, such as a lighthouse, snowman, umbrella or volcano. Mix in a few harder ideas, like jet lag or gravity, to keep rounds interesting.
What are some easy Pictionary words?
Apple, house, sun, cat, fish, car, cake, hat, key, clock, flower, rainbow, pizza and kite are all easy, because each one is a single object with a simple outline.
What are some hard Pictionary words?
Ideas and phrases with no single shape, such as gravity, nostalgia, jet lag, stage fright, photosynthesis and procrastination. The drawer has to build them from smaller pictures.
How long do you get to draw in Pictionary?
One minute. In Mattel's rules, the timer is turned over and the Picturist has one minute to sketch clues for their team.
Can you use letters or numbers in Pictionary?
No. Mattel's rules forbid letters and numbers, as well as speaking, sign language, an ear for sounds-like, and dashes for the number of letters.
How many people do you need to play Pictionary?
You need at least two teams, and the board game allows up to four. Teams need at least two players each, since one draws while the others guess.
How do you pick random words for Pictionary?
Draw slips from a bowl, or use a random word generator with a Pictionary setting that picks drawable nouns and avoids repeats within a session.
What are some funny Pictionary ideas?
Try scenes that are silly to draw and easy to recognize: a cat wearing sunglasses, a snowman at the beach, a dog walking its owner, a pizza delivery by rocket, or a fish riding a bicycle.
Sources
Mattel. Pictionary instructions. Mattel, 2013.
Pictionary. Wikipedia.
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