Spelling Bee Answers for Sunday, February 22, 2026
Feb 22, 2026, Sunday Spelling Bee Answers for the G, I, K, N, R, L, U honeycomb (center letter L) feature 42 words, a 212-point total, 1 Pangram (1 Perfect Pangram perfect), and the 9-letter longest word: UNLINKING.
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Sunday, February 22, 2026 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
5.88
Typical lengthAll-time avg: 5.4
Rarity
92/100
Very RareRarer than 92% of puzzles
Avg Solve Time
46 minutes
Longer than usualTo reach Genius
2LL
15
Typical spreadUnique two-letter openings
Bingo Status
Yes
All 7 coveredAll 7 letters start at least 1 word
GN4L
20
words to GeniusGN4L OTN
Yes
Exact 148 ptsVowel Split
29%
Consonant-heavy puzzle72 vowels · 175 consonants
Score Milestones
- 0%Beginner0 PTS
- 5%Good Start11 PTS
- 15%Moving Up32 PTS
- 25%Good53 PTS
- 40%Solid85 PTS
- 50%Nice106 PTS
- 60%Great127 PTS
- 65%Amazing138 PTS
- 70%Genius148 PTS
- 100%Queen Bee212 PTS
Full List of NYT Spelling Bee Answers
Here is the complete list of 42 answers for the New York Times Spelling Bee puzzle for Sunday, February 22, 2026. 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.
9-Letter Words 1 word
8-Letter Words 7 words
7-Letter Words 9 words
6-Letter Words 8 words
5-Letter Words 3 words
4-Letter Words 14 words
Browse calendar of past puzzles
Word Length Distribution
Share of 42 answers at each word length.
Letter Coverage
Share of 42 words using each hive letter.
Points by Length
Total points available at each word length.
Letter Frequency Distribution
Share of 42 words starting with each letter.
How does this puzzle compare to other puzzles?
- Today’s score of 212 ranks in the 58th percentile among all puzzles.
- The last time a score this low appeared was on 2026-02-20.
- The highest score recorded is 506, seen on 2023-09-24.
- The lowest score recorded is 47, seen on 2023-03-27.
- With 42 possible answers, this puzzle falls in the 48th percentile overall.
- The last puzzle with fewer answers occurred on 2026-02-20.
- 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 Medium, compared to typical puzzles.
- Puzzles with similar letter rarity last appeared on 2026-02-18.
- The estimated solve time of 39–53 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*:
- gilgul
- gingili
- gingilli
- girling
- guggling
- guiling
- gulgul
- gurl
- iglu
- illing
- inulin
- kilning
- kingling
- kling
- klunk
- knurling
- kuli
- lignin
- likin
- lill
- ling
- linin
- linn
- liri
- liukiu
- luigi
- luigini
- lungi
- lunn
- lurg
- luri
- nill
- nilling
- nulling
- nurl
- nurling
- rigling
- rilling
- runkling
- ugli
- ulling
- ululu
- ungluing
- unkill
- unkilling
*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.