STILL means motionless, quiet, or continuing; also a distillation apparatus or a single photographic frame. As an adverb, it means even now or nevertheless.
Yes. STILL is in the Scrabble-style word list used by our tools and scores 5 points in Scrabble, 7 in Words With Friends and 5 in Wordfeud (base tile values, no board multipliers). Always check the dictionary your game uses (NWL, Collins or the WWF list) before playing.
| Letter | S | T | I | L | L | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scrabble | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| Words With Friends | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 |
| Wordfeud | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
STILL embodies the paradox of stasis and continuation, silence and persistence. This remarkably versatile word functions as adjective, adverb, noun, and verb, capturing concepts from absolute motionlessness to ongoing action, from photographic frames to moonshine apparatus. Its linguistic flexibility mirrors its semantic range—a word that means both "not moving" and "continuing to move," revealing how language captures life's contradictions in a single syllable.
As an adjective, still primarily means motionless or calm. A still pond reflects perfectly because no ripples disturb its surface. Still air hangs heavy before storms. A still figure might be sleeping, meditating, or frozen in fear. This physical stillness extends metaphorically: a still mind achieves clarity, still waters run deep, and still moments provide respite from chaos. The word captures both external quietude and internal peace.
The adverbial usage—"still" meaning "even now" or "nevertheless"—seems contradictory yet reveals deeper truth. "I still love you" implies both continuation and surprise that love persists. "Still, we must try" acknowledges difficulty while insisting on action. This temporal "still" bridges past and present, expectation and reality. It's the linguistic equivalent of persistence itself, a word that refuses to give up.
The etymology of "still" reveals a fundamental Indo-European concept of standing and fixedness that evolved into one of English's most versatile words. From Old English "stille" (motionless, stable, quiet), the word traces back to Proto-Germanic *stilli- and ultimately to the Indo-European root *stel- meaning "to put, stand, or make firm."
Anagrams: LILTSTILLS
Hooks: no front hooks; back STILLS, STILLY.
Words inside STILL: 23 shorter words can be made from these letters – highest scoring: LILTSTILLSILLSLILTLISTLITSSILLSILTSLITTILLTILSILL. See all words from STILL.