diff --git a/src/search.c b/src/search.c
index 349eae0..8133df4 100644
--- a/src/search.c
+++ b/src/search.c
@@ -4252,8 +4252,9 @@
     list_T	*lmatchpos;
 } fuzzyItem_T;
 
-// bonus for adjacent matches
-#define SEQUENTIAL_BONUS 15
+// bonus for adjacent matches; this is higher than SEPARATOR_BONUS so that
+// matching a whole word is preferred.
+#define SEQUENTIAL_BONUS 40
 // bonus if match occurs after a separator
 #define SEPARATOR_BONUS 30
 // bonus if match is uppercase and prev is lower