190+ Fun, Interesting Palindrome Words

Palindromes are words that are spelled exactly the same backward and forward. Palindrome words have existed for centuries, since 70AD. 

By

A palindrome is a word that reads the same backward and forward. Palindrome words have existed for centuries, since 70AD. The word itself comes from the Greek word ‘palin,’ which means back and ‘dromos’ which means direction. The first palindrome ever recorded was in Latin: Sator arepo tenet opera rotas. Although it has been debated, this phrase most likely means: The sower Arepo holds the wheels with effort.

Palindromes don’t have to be single words. They can be sentences. A number can even be considered a palindrome. As long as the letter (or number) in the front is the same as the letter (or number) in the back, it can be considered a palindrome. If you need an example for a better understanding, some of the best palindrome words are listed below:

Palindrome Words You Probably Know:

Palindromes are more common than you think. You probably use them all the time when writing without even realizing it. Here are some examples of palindromes that you might have heard in the past:

  1. Civic. This word relates to a city or town.
  2. Deified. This word means to treat someone like a god or to worship them like a god.
  3. Level. This word, which can be used as a noun, adjective, or verb, refers to a horizontal plane.
  4. Racecar. This is one of the most famous examples of a palindrome word.
  5. Mom. This is the only word for mother that can be considered a palindrome.
  6. Madam. This word is used to respectfully refer to a woman.
  7. Radar. This word refers to a system detecting the presence of an aircraft or other objects.
  8. Rotator. This is a machine or device that causes something to rotate.
  9. Repaper. This word is used to describe someone applying new wallpaper.
  10. Kayak. This word refers to a type of canoe.
  11. Kazak. This refers to a member of the Turkic people of Kazakhstan.
  12. Esse. This is another word for essence.
  13. Deked. This is a word commonly used in ice hockey to describe faking out an opponent.
  14. Dewed. This refers to something that is glistening with liquid.
  15. Tat. This can refer to a tattoo. Or it can refer to someone making or tying knots in a thread and using a small shuttle to form lace.
  16. LOL. Abbreviations can also be considered palindromes.
  17. DVD. This refers to a digital disc storage format invented in the nineties.
  18. Deed. This palindrome word is used to describe an intentional action.

Famous Palindrome Words You’ve Probably Never Heard:

Some palindromic words are more obscure. You might not have heard of them before. You might not even understand what they mean. Here is a list of the rarer palindromes and their definitions, so you can start to use them yourself:

  1. Murdrum. This word refers to the crime of killing an unknown man.
  2. Lemel. This word refers to metal filings.
  3. Minim. This word is used to describe a single drop of liquid.
  4. Rotavator. This is another English word for a cultivator.
  5. Tenet. This word refers to a principle or belief.
  6. Stats. This is an abbreviation for statistics.
  7. Solos. This is a piece or passage of vocal or instrumental music for one performer.
  8. Sagas. This refers to a long story of heroic achievement.
  9. Ailihphilia. This means the love of palindromes
  10. Tattarrattat. This refers to a knock on the door.
  11. Aibohphobia. This is a joke word meaning fear of palindromes

Other Famous Palindrome Words:

Some palindromic words are used every single day — and you don’t even realize it! Here is a list of palindrome words that you’ve definitely seen and used before:

  1. Refer. This means to allude to something specific.
  2. Noon. This refers to the middle of the day.
  3. Non. This is a commonly used prefix.
  4. Yay. This is an exclamation word.
  5. Poop. This refers to feces.
  6. Peep. This word means a quick, furtive look.
  7. Pop. This refers to a light explosive sound.
  8. Dad. This is a common word for father.
  9. Eye. You can use this word to describe your own eyes or to explain that you’re looking at something.
  10. Gag. This can refer to a muzzle.
  11. Wow. This is an exclamation of awe or surprise.
  12. Redder. This word can be used to describe a blush.
  13. Testset. This is a scientific word used to describe data sets.
  14. Boob. This is another word for breasts.

Palindrome Words and Sentences

Palindromes don’t have to be single words. They can be sentences, too. Some of them actually make sense and can be used in everyday life. And others are more silly and nonsensical. Here are a few that are easier to understand:

  1. Dammit, I’m mad!
  2. A man, a plan, a canal – Panama.
  3. Don’t nod.
  4. No lemon, no melon!
  5. Bird rib.
  6. Go hang a salami, I’m a lasagna hog.
  7. Do geese see God?
  8. Mr. Owl ate my metal worm.
  9. Was it a car or a cat I saw?
  10. Borrow or rob?
  11. I did, did I?
  12. Evil did I dwell; lewd I did live.
  13. Rats live on no evil star.
  14. My gym.
  15. No devil lived on.
  16. Ma is a nun, as I am.
  17. A nut for a jar of tuna.
  18. Yo, banana boy!
  19. Red rum, sir, is murder.
  20. Madam, in Eden, I’m Adam.
  21. Taco cat.
  22. Al lets Della call Ed “Stella.”
  23. Amore, Roma.
  24. As I pee sir, I see Pisa!
  25. Dennis sinned.
  26. Step on no pets.
  27. UFO tofu?
  28. But sad Eva saved a stub.
  29. No trace; not one carton.
  30. No, sir, prefer prison.
  31. Do nine men interpret? “Nine men,” I nod.
  32. Bombard a drab mob.
  33. No “x” in “Nixon”.
  34. Ma is as selfless as I am.
  35. Gateman sees name, garageman sees name tag.
  36. A Toyota. Race fast, safe car. A Toyota.
  37. Top spot.
  38. Drab as a fool, aloof as a bard.
  39. Now I see bees, I won.
  40. Was it a cat I saw?
  41. Cigar? Toss it in a can. It is so tragic.
  42. Never odd or even
  43. Evade me, Dave.
  44. Race fast, safe car.
  45. Flee to me, remote elf.
  46. Naomi, did I moan?
  47. Ed, I saw Harpo Marx ram Oprah W. aside.
  48. Campus Motto: Bottoms up, Mac!
  49. Name now one man.
  50. Doc, note I dissent: a fast never prevents a fatness. I diet on cod.
  51. Rise to vote, sir.
  52. Senile felines.
  53. Murder for a jar of red rum.
  54. Dogma? I am God.
  55. Won’t lovers revolt now?
  56. Saw tide rose? So red it was.
  57. Stack cats.
  58. Did I draw Della too tall, Edward? I did?
  59. A Santa dog lived as a devil god at NASA.
  60. Meet animals; laminate ’em.
  61. Oozy rat in a sanitary zoo.
  62. So many dynamos!
  63. A tin mug for a jar of gum, Nita.
  64. Madam I’m Adam.
  65. Able was I, ere I saw Elba.
  66. Eva, can I see bees in a cave?
  67. Lived on Decaf; faced no Devil.
  68. Stella won no wallets.
  69. Cain: a maniac.
  70. Lonely Tylenol.
  71. No lemon, no melon.

Nonsensical Palindrome Words and Sentences

Some palindromes aren’t exactly normal sentences. They’re supposed to be silly and outrageous. They aren’t meant to make sense. They’re meant to make you laugh out loud.

  1. Animal loots foliated detail of stool lamina.
  2. Barge in! Relate mere war of 1991 for a were-metal Ernie grab!
  3. Daedalus: nine. Peninsula: dead.
  4. Delia saw I was ailed.
  5. Dennis and Edna sinned.
  6. Desserts, I stressed!
  7. Drat Saddam, a mad dastard!
  8. Eva, can I stab bats in a cave?
  9. Laminated E.T. animal.
  10. Anne, I vote more cars race Rome to Vienna.
  11. Bush saw Sununu swash sub.
  12. Draw, O coward!
  13. Party boobytrap.
  14. Draw pupil’s lip upward.
  15. Goldenrod-adorned log.
  16. Poor Dan is in a droop.
  17. Stab nail at ill Italian bats.
  18. Golf? No sir, prefer prison-flog.
  19. Norma is as selfless as I am, Ron.
  20. Ah, Satan sees Natasha!
  21. Harass sensuousness, Sarah.
  22. Son, I’m odd. Domino’s?
  23. Lay a wallaby baby ball away, Al.
  24. P.U.! Organisms in a group.
  25. I faced decaf! I!!
  26. Depardieu, go razz a rogue I draped
  27. No cab, no tuna nut on bacon.
  28. Tarzan raised Desi Arnaz’ rat.
  29. Straw? No, too stupid a fad; I put soot on warts.
  30. No sir — away! A papaya war is on.
  31. Santa dog lived as a devil god at NASA.
  32. Won’t I panic in a pit now?
  33. Wonder if Sununu’s fired now.
  34. Denim axes examined.
  35. If I had a hi-fi.
  36. On a clover, if alive, erupts a vast, pure evil; a fire volcano.
  37. Reviled did I live, said I, as evil I did deliver.
  38. Stop! Murder us not, tonsured rumpots!
  39. Ten animals I slam in a net.
  40. Marge lets Norah see Sharon’s telegram.
  41. May a moody baby doom a yam.
  42. I roamed under it as a tired, nude Maori.
  43. Too bad I hid a boot.
  44. I, man, am regal – a German am I.
  45. No, Mel Gibson is a casino’s big lemon.
  46. Lisa Bonet ate no basil
  47. Too hot to hoot.
  48. Warsaw was raw.
  49. Anne, I vote more cars race Rome to Vienna.

The Longest Palindrome Examples:

Some palindromes are super long! However, they work the same as any other palindrome sentence. They can be read exactly the same forwards and backward. Take a look and see for yourself!

  1. Are we not pure? “No sir!” Panama’s moody Noriega brags. “It is garbage!” Irony dooms a man; a prisoner up to new era.
  2. T. Eliot, top bard, notes putrid tang emanating, is sad. I’d assign it a name: gnat dirt upset on drab pot-toilet.
  3. Embargos are macabre. Sad Nell, listen O, not to no nets. I’ll lend a Serb a camera, so grab me.
  4. Er, go on, trap Steven in, I say. Me oh my. Nor can an “air” bee sew. We see, Brian. An acronym? Hoe my asinine vet’s part? No, ogre.
  5. Are we not pure? “No sir!” Panama’s moody Noriega brags. “It is garbage!” Irony dooms a man; a prisoner up to new era.
  6. “Son, say a papaya.”
    “Papayas.”
    “No ‘s.'”
  7. Dennis, Nell, Edna, Leon, Nedra, Anita, Rolf, Nora, Alice, Carol, Leo, Jane, Reed, Dena, Dale, Basil, Rae, Penny, Lana, Dave, Denny, Lena, Ida, Bernadette, Ben, Ray, Lila, Nina, Jo, Ira, Mara, Sara, Mario, Jan, Ina, Lily, Arne, Bette, Dan, Reba, Diane, Lynn, Ed, Eva, Dana, Lynne, Pearl, Isabel, Ada, Ned, Dee, Rena, Joel, Lora, Cecil, Aaron, Flora, Tina, Arden, Noel, and Ellen sinned.

Names That Are Also Palindrome Words: 

There are certain names that are considered palindromes. If you want to name your child something that is perfectly symmetrical, then you might want to use one of the names below:

  1. Ada
  2. Anna
  3. Bob
  4. Elle
  5. Eve
  6. Ava
  7. Hannah
  8. Izzi
  9. Lil
  10. Viv
  11. Otto
  12. Abba
  13. Eseese
  14. Nin
  15. Arora
  16. Nisio Isin (a Japanese novelist)
  17. Robert Trebor (an actor)
  18. Stanley Yelnats (a character of the movie Holes)
  19. Lon Nol (a Prime Minister of Cambodia)

Palindromes Words Read By the Word Instead of the Letter:

Sometimes, palindromes can be read by the word instead of the letter. Here are a few famous examples down below:

  1. “Entering the lonely house with my wife
    I saw him for the first time
    Peering furtively from behind a bush …
    Blackness that moved,
    A shape amid the shadows,
    A momentary glimpse of gleaming eyes
    Revealed in the ragged moon …
    A closer look (he seemed to turn) might have
    Revealed in the ragged moon
    A momentary glimpse of gleaming eyes
    A shape amid the shadows,
    Blackness that moved.
    Peering furtively from behind a bush,
    I saw him, for the first time
    Entering the lonely house with my wife.” – Doppelgänger (By James A. Lindon)
  2. “Open floodgates,
    once restrained tightly,
    suddenly form rippled waters,
    expressive thoughts flowing freely,
    by frightful heart attending faithfully
    INSPIRATION
    faithfully attending heart frightful by
    freely flowing expressive thoughts,
    waters rippled form suddenly,
    tightly restrained once,
    floodgates open.” – Inspiration (By Memory Trace) Thought Catalog Logo Mark

About the author

January Nelson

January Nelson

January Nelson is a writer, editor, and dreamer. She writes about astrology, games, love, relationships, and entertainment. January graduated with an English and Literature degree from Columbia University.