Spelling Bee Answers for Sunday, December 17, 2023
Dec 17, 2023, Sunday Spelling Bee Answers for the T, A, N, I, E, M, P honeycomb (center letter P) feature 67 words, a 316-point total, 1 Pangram (0 Perfect Pangram perfect), and the 10-letter longest word: IMPENITENT.
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Sunday, December 17, 2023 NYT Spelling Bee Puzzle Insights
A closer look at this NYT puzzle difficulty, word patterns, scoring, and solve time.
Difficulty
9/10
Very Hard89th percentile
Avg Word Length
5.55
Typical lengthAll-time avg: 5.4
Rarity
83/100
Very RareRarer than 83% of puzzles
Avg Solve Time
74 minutes
Longer than usualTo reach Genius
2LL
14
Few pairsUnique two-letter openings
Bingo Status
No
Missing: MAll 7 letters start at least 1 word
GN4L
32
words to GeniusGN4L OTN
Yes
Exact 221 ptsVowel Split
44%
Balanced mix163 vowels · 209 consonants
Score Milestones
- 0%Beginner0 PTS
- 5%Good Start16 PTS
- 15%Moving Up47 PTS
- 25%Good79 PTS
- 40%Solid126 PTS
- 50%Nice158 PTS
- 60%Great190 PTS
- 65%Amazing205 PTS
- 70%Genius221 PTS
- 100%Queen Bee316 PTS
Full List of NYT Spelling Bee Answers
Here is the complete list of 67 answers for the New York Times Spelling Bee puzzle for Sunday, December 17, 2023. The answers are organized by word length and point value, along with today's pangram. Prefer a spoiler-free approach? Try the spelling bee hints for today or browse the full list of NYT spelling bee words.
Common openings
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Puzzle Letters
Pangrams
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Complete Answers
Sort it your way: longest words or highest scores.
10-Letter Words 1 word
9-Letter Words 2 words
8-Letter Words 4 words
7-Letter Words 8 words
6-Letter Words 17 words
5-Letter Words 14 words
4-Letter Words 21 words
Browse calendar of past puzzles
Word Length Distribution
Share of 67 answers at each word length.
Letter Coverage
Share of 67 words using each hive letter.
Points by Length
Total points available at each word length.
Letter Frequency Distribution
Share of 67 words starting with each letter.
How does this puzzle compare to other puzzles?
- Today’s score of 316 ranks in the 93rd percentile among all puzzles.
- The last time a score this low appeared was on 2023-12-16.
- The highest score recorded is 506, seen on 2023-09-24.
- The lowest score recorded is 47, seen on 2023-03-27.
- With 67 possible answers, this puzzle falls in the 96th percentile overall.
- The last puzzle with fewer answers occurred on 2023-12-16.
- The highest number of answers in any puzzle is 80, on 2026-02-01.
- The lowest number of answers in any puzzle is 16, on 2023-03-27.
- This puzzle ranks among the Very Hard puzzles, based on overall difficulty scoring.
- Compared to recent puzzles, today’s challenge is harder than average.
- The letter set in this puzzle is considered Low, compared to typical puzzles.
- Puzzles with similar letter rarity last appeared on 2023-12-16.
- The estimated solve time of 63–85 min is slower than typical puzzles.
- Players can expect a grind-heavy solving experience.
Other Dictionary Words Not on This Puzzle's Official List
Wondering why these words aren't on the official list*:
- amapa
- anapaite
- anapnea
- apatite
- apennine
- apiin
- apimania
- apitpat
- appetent
- appinite
- appmt
- appt
- aptian
- atap
- atip
- empt
- epinine
- eppie
- etape
- impaint
- impanate
- impane
- impen
- impennate
- impi
- inappetent
- mainpin
- mantapa
- mappen
- matapi
- metepa
- mimp
- nanpie
- napa
- napaea
- napaean
- nappa
- nappe
- nappie
- neep
- nepa
- nepeta
- nepit
- nepman
- nepmen
- nipa
- nippitate
- paepae
- paine
- pampean
- panamaian
- panaman
- panamanian
- panamint
- pani
- paninean
- panman
- panna
- pannam
- panne
- panpipe
- papain
- pape
- pappi
- pata
- patana
- paten
- patia
- patin
- patinae
- patinate
- patine
- patmian
- patt
- patta
- patte
- pattee
- patten
- pattie
- peai
- pean
- peatman
- peatmen
- pein
- peine
- penna
- pennae
- penname
- pennate
- penni
- pennia
- pennine
- penninite
- penta
- pentene
- pentimenti
- pentine
- peppin
- pete
- peteman
- petemen
- petnap
- petti
- pian
- pianette
- piannet
- pieman
- piet
- pieta
- pima
- piman
- piment
- pimenta
- pimienta
- pina
- pinene
- pineta
- pinite
- pinman
- pinna
- pinnae
- pinnate
- pinnet
- pinta
- pipa
- pipeman
- pipi
- pippen
- pitman
- pitmen
- pitpan
- pitpit
- pitta
- pittite
- taipan
- taipei
- taipi
- tampa
- tampan
- tampin
- tapeman
- tapemen
- tapet
- tapeta
- tapete
- tapeti
- tapia
- tappa
- tappen
- tappet
- tempe
- tempean
- tepa
- tepe
- tepetate
- timpana
- tipi
- tipiti
- tippee
*Every word here uses only the hive's seven letters, includes the center letter, and appears in our dictionary, but it was never published in the NYT's official answer list.