May 17, 2025, Saturday

Spelling Bee Answers for Saturday, May 17, 2025

May 17, 2025, Saturday Spelling Bee Answers for the Z, A, T, I, E, N, L honeycomb (center letter L) feature 65 words, a 290-point total, 2 Pangrams (0 Perfect Pangram perfect), and the 10-letter longest word: INITIALIZE, TATTLETALE.

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Spelling Bee hive for May 17, 2025 with center letter L and surrounding letters Z,A,T,I,E and N

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Saturday, May 17, 2025 NYT Spelling Bee Puzzle Insights

A closer look at this NYT puzzle difficulty, word patterns, scoring, and solve time.

Difficulty

8/10

Hard

81st percentile

Avg Word Length

5.40

Typical length

All-time avg: 5.4

Rarity

75/100

Very Rare

Rarer than 75% of puzzles

Avg Solve Time

63 minutes

Longer than usual

To reach Genius

2LL

Typical spread

Unique two-letter openings

Bingo Status

Yes

All 7 covered

All 7 letters start at least 1 word

GN4L

words to Genius

2×10L3×9L2×8L4×7L15×6L2×5L

GN4L OTN

Yes

Exact 203 pts

28 words2×10L3×9L2×8L4×7L13×6L4×5L

Vowel Split

44%

Balanced mix

154 vowels · 197 consonants

Score Milestones

0%Beginner0 PTS
5%Good Start15 PTS
15%Moving Up44 PTS
25%Good73 PTS
40%Solid116 PTS
50%Nice145 PTS
60%Great174 PTS
65%Amazing189 PTS
70%Genius203 PTS
100%Queen Bee290 PTS

Full List of NYT Spelling Bee Answers

Here is the complete list of 65 answers for the New York Times Spelling Bee puzzle for Saturday, May 17, 2025. 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

37%

28%

15%

Try starting with these letters when you're stuck.

Puzzle Letters

Previous2025-05-16

Today's AnswersGo to Today

Pangrams

Reveal letter by letter or uncover a full solution

The Center letter is highlighted in Yellow.

Complete Answers

Sort it your way: longest words or highest scores.

Browse calendar of past puzzles

Word Length Distribution

25 words

14 words

15 words

4 words

2 words

3 words (Pangram)

2 words (Pangram)

10L

Share of 65 answers at each word length.

Letter Coverage

65 words

100%

47 words

72%

47 words

72%

42 words

65%

36 words

55%

36 words

55%

5 words

Share of 65 words using each hive letter.

Points by Length

25 pts

70 pts

90 pts

28 pts

16 pts

34 pts (Pangram)

27 pts (Pangram)

10L

Total points available at each word length.

Letter Frequency Distribution

2437%

1828%

1015%

58%

46%

35%

12%

Share of 65 words starting with each letter.

How does this puzzle compare to other puzzles?

Today’s score of 290 ranks in the 87th percentile among all puzzles.
The last time a score this low appeared was on 2025-05-16.
The highest score recorded is 506, seen on 2023-09-24.
The lowest score recorded is 47, seen on 2023-03-27.
With 65 possible answers, this puzzle falls in the 95th percentile overall.
The last puzzle with fewer answers occurred on 2025-05-16.
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 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 Medium, compared to typical puzzles.
Puzzles with similar letter rarity last appeared on 2025-05-16.
The estimated solve time of 54–72 min is slower than typical puzzles.
Players can expect a challenging solving experience.

Other Dictionary Words Not on This Puzzle's Official List

Wondering why these words aren't on the official list*:

aalii
aileen
ailette
ailie
aillt
aizle
alae
alai
alain
alaite
alala
alalia
alalite
alan
alane
alani
alanin
alanine
alant
alantin
alate
alea
alee
alen
alia
aliene
alienee
alienize
aline
alite
allan
allanite
allee
allen
allene
alliant
allie
allineate
altaian
altaite
alteza
altin
anele
anil
anile
anilin
aniline
annalize
anteal
antennal
antialien
antielite
antilia
antillean
antlia
atalanta
atellan
atlanta
atlantal
atlantean
atlantite
atlatl
atlee
atli
attal
attila
attle
azazel
azilian
eileen
elaenia
elain
elaine
elanet
elean
elian
elint
eliza
ella
elle
ellen
elne
ental
ettle
ilea
ileal
ilia
ilial
ilian
illite
inial
inline
intail
intitle
intnl
ital
itala
itali
italian
italianate
italianize
itll
izle
laelia
laen
laine
lait
lall
lana
lanate
laniate
lanital
lant
lata
lateen
latian
latin
latinate
latinize
latitant
latitat
latite
latten
lattin
leal
leat
leet
leetle
leila
lelia
lena
lenaea
lene
leniate
lenin
leninite
lenten
letitia
lett
letten
lezzie
liana
liane
lienal
lienee
lila
lile
lilian
lill
lillianite
lina
linea
lineate
linelet
linenette
linin
linn
linnaean
linnaeite
linne
lintie
litai
litten
litz
liza
lizzie
nale
nalita
nantle
natalia
natalian
natalie
natalitial
neal
neele
neil
nell
nellie
niall
nielli
nile
nill
taal
tael
taenial
taille
taillie
tailte
tailzee
tailzie
tala
tallet
talliate
tanala
tantalate
tantalean
tantalian
tantalite
teallite
teazel
teazle
teel
teil
tela
telae
tele
telei
teli
telia
telial
tellee
tellen
tellin
telt
tenail
tenaille
tentilla
tentlet
tetanal
tetel
tilia
tillet
tillite
tineal
titilate
titillant
titlene
tzental
zanella
zeilanite
zelant
zila
zill
zilla
zizel
zizzle

*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.