Looking for a fun way to choose a Word of the Year for 2021? Try this fun Word of the Year Generator! Find your perfect word at the click of a button. Read also: How to Choose a Word of the Year.

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A Fun New Way to Choose a Word of the Year
Table of Contents
I love choosing my Word of the Year! I started this tradition back in 2015, although I arguably cheated by using one word two years in a row…
You can find my past Word of the Year choices here:
- 2015 Word of the Year
- 2016 Word of the Year
- 2017 Word of the Year
- 2018 Word of the Year
- 2019 Word of the Year
- 2020 Word of the Year
Why choose a word of the year? It’s really just for fun, but I find picking a word can help me focus on a way of living that I want to emphasize in a coming year.
My word for 2015 was BOUNCE, because I was ready to bounce back from the upheaval my life was thrown into when we moved from Massachusetts to California in 2013.
In 2016 things we’d started to feel established in California, but things were still up in the air, including finding a place to live in California that would work for us long term. I picked the word LIVE to help me focus on living in the moment, despite uncertainty.
I loved that word so much that I repeated it for 2017.
In 2018 we were finally moved into a gorgeous house. My kids were growing and changing, and that meant my life was also growing and changing. I picked EXPLORE.
WONDER was my word for 2019. I’d loved reading the book Wonder with my kids the year before. I felt a bit jaded, and I wanted to recapture everyday joy.
CONNECT was my 2020 word of the year. I want to make sure I continue to build strong relationships with my children as they grow older. I also want to connect with more people in my community, and with opportunities to learn and grow as a human being.
Still thinking about how this yearly word game works? Read my post on how to choose a word of the year.
Luckily I found some delightfully nerdy ways to procrastinate. First I wrote yesterday’s post with the printable word list. Then my friend Andie created this fun printable Word of the Year activity.
Word of the Year Generator
Then I decided that it was time to dust off my oh-so-dusty coding skills (from the one programming class I took back in 2000) to use to create a custom word generator just for you!

This generator is super easy to use! Click the button below and you’ll get a word! Don’t like the first word? Click again and you’ll get another word.
Some of the words might surprise you at first glance. If you get something like “FAIL”, remember that it should be interpreted as “Try something even though you MIGHT FAIL”!
Mama Smiles Word of the Year Generator
Your word of the year is
The words are selected at random from a list I put together, so you might get the same word more than once, but there are a lot of words to choose from!

Pair Your Word of the Year with a Great Book
Looking for a great read to go along with your Word of the Year? Try Designing Your Life by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans.
If you’re looking for a great planner to use in 2021, I bought and love this Progress not Perfection Happy Planner. The layout is different from other Happy Planners that I have used, and I love it!
What word did you get using this Word of the Year Generator?
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MaryAnne lives in Silicon Valley with her Stanford professor husband Mike and their four children. She writes about parenting through education, creativity, and play. Mama Smiles - Joyful Parenting is a space to share crafts, hands on learning activities, and family outings that enrich lives and bring families together.
I think I’ll reuse my 2018 word, haven’t done much with it :-(
Happy New Year, dear Maryanne, hope it’s a great one.
Amalia
xo
Happy New Year! I hope 2019 is a wonderful year for you, Amalia!
The first word it gave me was “fail.” Hahaha! Tried again and got, “laugh.” I’ll take that. ;)
That’s quite the combo!
I LOVE this. So many of the words could be my “word”. I didn’t choose one this year, but I loved generating a bunch and thinking about how it applies to me.
I got open using your generator…. I’m not quite sure what I might pair that with, it’s rather, wait for it, open-ended.
I figured out part of the way through the year I forget about my word of the year, and just leave it sitting there lonely and forgotten, so I quit picking one, but I always enjoy seeing what others pick.
Apparently, my word of the year is “LIVE” :) Happy New Year!
It’s hard to go wrong with that one. Thanks for playing, and Happy New Year!
Jump! 😁
I like that one! Will you design some fabric to go with it?
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