Word scrambler and list randomizer

A word scrambler that also shuffles lists and sentences

This tool puts things out of order on purpose. As a word scrambler, it mixes up the letters of a word or a sentence. As a list randomizer, it puts the lines you paste into random order. It also jumbles the words of a sentence. Three tabs, and a “Scramble again” button for a fresh draw.

People use it for word games and riddles, spelling and vocabulary practice in class or at home, sentence-ordering tasks in language lessons, drawing a speaking order, shuffling quiz questions or mixing party dares.

How to use the three tabs

1. “Scramble letters”. Type into “Word or sentence” and the letters of each word are scrambled straight away. “Keep the first and last letters in place” only moves the inner letters. “Scramble all the letters of the sentence together” lets letters travel from one word to another. “Keep punctuation and capitals in place” leaves apostrophes, hyphens and capital positions where they were. “Never return the original word” rejects a draw that matches what you typed.
2. “Worksheet (one word per line)”. Tick the box: you get a numbered list of scrambled words, with the “Answer key” kept apart. With “Print the exercise”, only the exercise goes on paper, with a writing line under each word.
3. “Shuffle a list”. Paste your lines, then choose from “Number the items”, “Remove empty lines”, “Remove duplicates”, “Keep only the first N” and “Split into N groups or columns”. Fourteen names in 4 groups give groups of 4, 4, 3 and 3.
4. “Shuffle the words of a sentence”. Each sentence becomes one exercise line, such as the / sofa / sleeps / cat / the / on. The final punctuation stays at the end, and “Lowercase the first capital letter” stops the capital from giving away the first word. The space bar scrambles again.

How many ways can a word be arranged?

The “Possible arrangements:” line counts the different orders of the letters. When every letter is different, it is the factorial of the word length: “word” has 4 letters, so 4 × 3 × 2 × 1 = 24 arrangements. When letters repeat, you divide by the factorial of each repeat. “letter” has two e's and two t's: 720 ÷ (2 × 2) = 180. “mississippi” has 11 letters with four i's, four s's and two p's: 39,916,800 ÷ (24 × 24 × 2) = 34,650.

Scrambling is not solving anagrams

An anagram is a real word made from the letters of another, such as “listen” and “silent”. This tool has no dictionary: it picks one order at random among all the possible ones, and the result is usually nonsense (“dwor”, “owdr”). For a word game this is what you want: the player has to find the hidden word.

Can you really read text with jumbled letters?

A message has been going round since 2003: according to research attributed to Cambridge University, letter order would not matter as long as the first and last letters stay put. No such study has been traced to that university, and the claim is overstated. The effect is real, though: most people get through “raeding a snetnece lkie tihs” with little trouble, because the words are short and common and the context helps. A four-letter word has only one other possible form anyway (“this” becomes “tihs”). With long or rare words, reading slows down a lot: “utlafnernotuy” takes a moment (unfortunately).

What makes a shuffle fair?

A shuffle is fair when every possible order has exactly the same chance. Three items have 6 orders, so each should come up one time in six; eight items have 40,320 orders. The tool uses the Fisher-Yates method with the browser's cryptographic random generator: position in the original list gives no advantage.

Frequently asked questions

Does it find the anagrams of a word?

No. It never checks whether the result is a word: it makes puzzles, it does not solve them.

Why does a short word stay the same?

A word made of identical letters has a single arrangement. With “Keep the first and last letters in place”, a word needs at least four letters before anything can move.

Are my lists stored anywhere?

No. The shuffle runs in your browser and nothing is uploaded. Only your options are remembered on your device.

How do I draw a random speaking order?

Open “Shuffle a list”, paste one name per line and tick “Number the items”. To pick just three people, enter 3 in “Keep only the first N”: it is a draw without replacement.