Spelling Bee Answers for Sunday, May 18, 2025
May 18, 2025, Sunday Spelling Bee Answers for the U, A, N, I, G, L, F honeycomb (center letter F) feature 48 words, a 273-point total, 3 Pangrams (1 Perfect Pangram perfect), and the 12-letter longest word: UNFULFILLING.
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Sunday, May 18, 2025 NYT Spelling Bee Puzzle Insights
A closer look at this NYT puzzle difficulty, word patterns, scoring, and solve time.
Difficulty
9/10
Very Hard87th percentile
Avg Word Length
6.13
Typical lengthAll-time avg: 5.4
Rarity
87/100
Very RareRarer than 87% of puzzles
Avg Solve Time
53 minutes
Longer than usualTo reach Genius
2LL
11
Few pairsUnique two-letter openings
Bingo Status
Yes
All 7 coveredAll 7 letters start at least 1 word
GN4L
22
words to GeniusGN4L OTN
Yes
Exact 191 ptsVowel Split
34%
Consonant-heavy puzzle99 vowels · 195 consonants
Score Milestones
- 0%Beginner0 PTS
- 5%Good Start14 PTS
- 15%Moving Up41 PTS
- 25%Good68 PTS
- 40%Solid109 PTS
- 50%Nice137 PTS
- 60%Great164 PTS
- 65%Amazing177 PTS
- 70%Genius191 PTS
- 100%Queen Bee273 PTS
Full List of NYT Spelling Bee Answers
Here is the complete list of 48 answers for the New York Times Spelling Bee puzzle for Sunday, May 18, 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
Try starting with these letters when you're stuck.
Puzzle Letters
Pangrams
Reveal letter by letter or uncover a full solution
Complete Answers
Sort it your way: longest words or highest scores.
12-Letter Words 1 word
10-Letter Words 2 words
9-Letter Words 3 words
8-Letter Words 5 words
7-Letter Words 8 words
6-Letter Words 8 words
5-Letter Words 7 words
4-Letter Words 14 words
Browse calendar of past puzzles
Word Length Distribution
Share of 48 answers at each word length.
Letter Coverage
Share of 48 words using each hive letter.
Points by Length
Total points available at each word length.
Letter Frequency Distribution
Share of 48 words starting with each letter.
How does this puzzle compare to other puzzles?
- Today’s score of 273 ranks in the 82nd 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 48 possible answers, this puzzle falls in the 64th 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 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 2025-05-14.
- The estimated solve time of 45–61 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*:
- affinal
- alfa
- alfin
- alif
- faff
- fagging
- fagin
- fain
- fainaiguing
- fala
- falla
- fallal
- falun
- fana
- fanal
- fanga
- fanging
- faunula
- fianna
- figging
- fila
- fili
- filla
- fingal
- fingall
- fingallian
- fingan
- fini
- finn
- finnan
- finning
- flagfall
- flain
- flang
- flanning
- fuff
- fugal
- fugging
- fugling
- fuguing
- fula
- fulani
- fulfil
- fullfil
- fulling
- fungia
- fungian
- fungin
- funning
- gaffing
- gigful
- gliff
- gliffing
- guffin
- gulfing
- infall
- infalling
- infang
- infauna
- infaunal
- infin
- infula
- ingulf
- ingulfing
- langlauf
- luffa
- luffing
- niff
- unfain
- unfalling
- unfilial
- unfiling
- unfill
- unfilling
- unflag
- unfulfil
- unfulfill
- unfull
- ungainful
*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.