List of Words Without Vowels: 100 Words to Enhance Your Writing

Check out our list of words without vowels in English. Knowing them well can help you win popular word games, like Words with Friends or Scrabble.
Vowel sounds are necessary in the English language to create words, but sometimes, words sneak their way into the vocabulary that doesn’t contain the letters “a,” “e,” “i,” “o,” and “u.” This selection of words will help you win your next word game; we’ve even got a helpful list of pictionary words.

What Are Words Without Vowels?

Words without vowels do not contain one of the five primary vowels. Sometimes, these words contain “y” used as a vowel. Other times, they are abbreviations, onomatopoeia, or derivatives of foreign words.

Brrr	Lynch	Spy
By	Lynx	Sty
Byrls	Mmm	Styth
Chynd	My	Sylph
Cly	Myrrh	Sylphy
Crwth	Myth	Sync
Crwth	Mythy	Synch
Cry	Nth	Synd
Crypt	Nymph	Syph
Cwm	Nymphly	Syzygy
Cwtch	Pfft	Tch
Cyst	Phpht	Thy
Dry	Ply	Thymy
Dryly	Pry	Try
Drys	Psst	Tryst
Fly	Psych	Tsk
Flyby	Pygmy	Twyndyllyng
Flysch	Pyx	Tyg
Fry	Rhythm	Tymp
Fyrd	Rhythms	Tynd
Ghylls	Rynd	Typp
Glycyl	Scry	Typy
Glyph	Shhh	Vly
Gym	Shy	Why
Gynny	Shyly	Wry
Gyppy	Skyf	Wryly
Gyps	Skyr	Wych
Hmm	Sly	Wyn
Hwyl	Slyly	Wynd
Hymn	Sny	Xlnt
Hyp	Sphynx	Xylyls
Ky	Spry	Xyst
Kynd	Spryly	Zzzzz
Lymph

Onomatopoeia Words Without Vowels

One common category of words without vowels is onomatopoeia words. These are words that spell a sound. Since sounds don’t necessarily have vowel sounds, the words don’t either.

1. Brrr

As she shivered in the cold breeze, the toddler said, “Brrr.”

2. Hmm

“Hmm,” she said, “that is an interesting idea.”

3. Mmm

The child took a bite of the cookie and showed his appreciation with a loud “Mmm.”

4. Pfft

The old woman shook her head and said, “Pfft, in my day, children knew how to speak with respect to their elders.”

5. Psst

“Psst,” she said, “We’re hiding over here.”

6. Shhh

“Shhh,” she soothed, “don’t cry!”

7. Tch

“Tch! Tch!” clucked the old woman in disapproval.

8. Tsk

“Tsk! Tsk! You shouldn’t talk to your mom that way,” said the teacher at the conference.

9. Zzzzz

“Zzzzz!” The dad was snoring loudly before the movie ended.

Two-Letter Words Without Vowels

A few words in the English language have just two letters, and if they contain a “y,” they likely don’t contain other vowels.

10. By

The book was by her favorite author, so she quickly added it to her online cart.

11. Ky

A ky herd was kept for dairy and meat in Medieval England.

12. My

My purse was left at the restaurant, so we must go back.

Three-Letter Words Without Vowels

Three-letter words ending in “y” are pretty common. These are some of the words without vowels that are part of everyday modern language. You might also be interested in our list of action verbs.

13. Cly

If you choose to cly money from the government, you will likely go to jail.

14. Cry

The child began to cry for their mom as school was nearing the end of the day.

15. Cwm

As the hikers climbed to Cwm Glas Mawr, they noticed a dusting of snow on the ground.

16. Dry

Please dry your hands on the towel before leaving the kitchen.

17. Fly

Will you fly or drive to your vacation in Florida?

18. Fry

It may be healthier to bake the chicken, but it will be tastier if you fry it.

19. Gym

After over-indulging in sweets at Christmas, he felt a trip to the gym was important.

20. Hyp

A hyp act is scheduled to come after the acrobats at the circus performance. 

21. Nth

If I missed curfew, my dad would question me to the nth degree.

22. Ply

The two-ply toilet paper she usually purchased was sold out, so she had to buy the thinner version.

23. Pry

She didn’t mean to pry, but her questions were quite invasive.

24. Pyx

The priest brought out the host in the decorative pyx.

25. Shy

The shy child had trouble making friends.

26. Sly

The thief’s sly smile indicated he wasn’t interested in being truthful.

27. Sny

The end of the dock will sny slightly upward to prevent people from falling off.

28. Spy

Please don’t spy on me while I wrap the presents.

29. Sty

The sty in her eye was quite painful.

30. Thy

“Give me thy hand,” the prince said to his princess.

31. Try

They will try harder tomorrow, but tonight they need to sleep.

32. Tyg

A tyg is a great drinking cup for kids because it has two handles.

33. Vly

They trudged through the vly to get to the paved path.

34. Why

Why would the dog run away?

35. Wry

The wry smile gave away the fact that he was joking.

36. Wyn

Pour a glass of wyn at the end of the day.

Four-Letter Words Without Vowels

Four-letter words without vowels can be abbreviations that have made their way into modern language. They can also be words with a “y” making a vowel sound.

37. Cyst

The cyst on her wrist had grown so big she had to have it surgically removed.

38. Drys

We had a drys of rain that got the ground damp but wasn’t quite enough to water the flowers.

39. Fyrd

The king called up a fyrd of hard-working men to protect his land when the enemy attacked.

40. Gyps

The lack of feathers on the vulture’s neck is a telltale sign that it is a gyps.

41. Hwyl

She recited the poetry with much passion and hwyl.

42. Hymn

At the end of the church service, the congregation sang a hymn of praise before going home.

43. Kynd

The mother and her kynd were grateful to have time together.

44. Lynx

The lynx kitten may be cute but will grow into a fierce predator.

45. Myth

The myth of Pandora’s box is a good lesson on decisions without a clear choice.

46. Rynd

The rynd helped support the millstone on the spindle.

47. Scry

The fortune teller will attempt to scry the future using tarot cards and her crystal ball.

48. Skyf

Don’t try to skyf in the hallway at school because the smell of the smoke will get you caught.

49. Skyr

She preferred the creamier texture of skyr over the thick texture of Greek yogurt.

50. Spry

Grandfather isn’t as spry as he once was.

51. Sync

The actor’s lip-singing was out of sync with the soundtrack.

52. Synd

Please synd the dirty clothes in the faucet before putting them in the laundry.

53. Syph

The child was showing symptoms of syph, a rare, sometimes congenital illness.

54. Tymp

The molten iron could not pass through the tymp at the top of the blast furnace.

55. Tynd

The tynd liquid was so thin that it easily flowed through the spigot.

56. Typp

She took a typp of yarn to give her enough to make the entire sweater.

57. Typy

The typy receptionist rarely made an errant typo.

58. Wych

The wych was full of salt water, which wasn’t good for drinking.

59. Wynd

The wynd was for foot traffic only because it was too narrow for vehicles.

60. Xlnt

What an xlnt novel to read in junior high!

61. Xyst

The xyst was a beautiful place to walk in the cool of the evening in ancient Rome.

Five-Letter Words Without Vowels

Though they may not be the longest, some five-letter words do not use vowels. If you are a fan of the game Wordle, which often uses five-letter words, these are good words to keep in the back of your mind.

62. Byrls

The college students frequently byrls at the local tavern after finishing their exams. 

63. Chynd

The chef skillfully chynd the food to make his signature dish.

64. Crwth

The musician skillfully played the crwth while the audience listened in rapt attention.

65. Crypt

With its cobwebs and skeletons, the crypt was a spooky addition to the haunted house 

Experience.

66. Cwtch

The teacher instructed the child to put her coat on the cwtch and join the class on the rug.

67. Dryly

“Sure,” he responded dryly, and it was clear he didn’t want to go.

68. Flyby

The vintage plane did a quick flyby before the parade started.

69. Glyph

The architect’s signature design piece was a glyph at the top of each pillar.

70. Gynny

The gynny hen chased the children around the farmyard.

71. Gyppy

After she went to Europe, she came home with a bit of a gyppy tummy.

72. Lymph

The lymph fluid is vital to the immune system to help fight illness.

73. Lynch

The lynch mob was so blinded by prejudice they attacked the man without going through proper legal channels. 

74. Myrrh

The three wise men of the biblical Christmas story brought gifts of cold, frankincense, and myrrh.

75. Mythy

Though the story was true, it had a mythy feel to it.

76. Nymph

The Lady of the Lake in the King Arthur legend was a nymph.

77. Psych

Should we psych ourselves up for a challenging game?

78. Pygmy

The pygmy goats are the smallest breed of goat.

79. Shyly

The dog shyly peaked his head from between his owner’s legs to look at the strangers.

80. Slyly

She slyly looked to her partner in crime before jumping off into the abyss to escape the guards.

81. Styth

The suffocating styth gas made the mine unsafe.

82. Sylph

The sylph darted around the hummingbird feeder.

83. Thymy

The kitchen smelled very thymy as they added the fragrant spice to the dish.

84. Tryst

The romantic tryst was rudely interrupted when the children bounded into the room.

85. Crwth

The crwth has a unique sound, and I enjoy listening to recordings of the instrument.

86. Phpht

Did you hear the indignant “phpht” the customer said when we explained why they couldn’t get 

the sale price?

87. Synch

The Bluetooth speaker had to synch to the phone before they could hear the music.

88. Wryly

He looked at her wryly, taking in her ripped jeans and dirty shirt.

Check out our list of vivid verbs to elevate your next piece of writing!

Six-Letter Words Without Vowels

Several six-letter words in English are spelled without vowel letters. Some have y, but a few have no vowel-type letters at all. 

89. Flysch

The geologist pointed out the Flysch on the side of the mountain, which pointed to how it was formed.

90. Ghylls

From the top of the ravine, we could see small ghylls of water running through below.

91. Glycyl

The chemist created glycyl by removing the hydrogen atoms from the carboxylic acid.

92. Sphynx

The Sphynx is one of the most recognizable monuments from ancient Egypt.

93. Spryly

She spryly jumped onto the deck, making her seem much younger than her 60 years.

94. Sylphy

The attractive sylphy got the attention of the men when she walked into the room.

95. Syzygy

The astronomer noticed that the planets were aligned in syzygy.

96. Xylyls

The removal of the hydrogen atom created a group of xylyls.

97. Rhythm

You got the melody notes right, but the rhythm is all wrong, so let’s try that again.

Seven-Letter Words Without Vowels

The next longest word in English that does not use vowels has seven letters, as long as you are not counting plurals. Again, there is only one word that falls into this category. 

98. Nymphly

She nymphly dove into the water and surfaced in the sparkling light.

99. Rhythms

The rhythms of the band drove the crowd into a dancing frenzy.

Eleven Letter Words Without Vowels

The longest word in the English language with no vowels is eleven letters long if you exclude plurals. Add an s to make it plural, and you have a twelve-letter word. Though it is rarely used and is of Welsh origins, it is in the Oxford English Dictionary, so it counts.

100. Twyndyllyng

The mother was hoping for a twyndyllyngs pregnancy but had to wait until her ultrasound to find out.

Looking for more? Check out our list of positive words!

FAQs About The List of Words Without Vowels