Spelling Bee Answers for Thursday, July 23, 2026

Jul 23, 2026, Thursday Spelling Bee Answers for the C, D, E, F, N, O, U honeycomb (center letter F) feature 40 words, a 239-point total, 2 Pangrams (0 Perfect Pangram perfect), and the 10-letter longest word: CONFOUNDED, UNDEFENDED, UNOFFENDED.

Spelling Bee hive for July 23, 2026 with center letter F and surrounding letters C,D,E,N,O and U

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Thursday, July 23, 2026 NYT Spelling Bee Puzzle Insights

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

Difficulty

8/10

Hard

80th percentile

Avg Word Length

6.30

Long words

All-time avg: 5.4

Rarity

83/100

Very Rare

Rarer than 83% of puzzles

Avg Solve Time

39 minutes

Typical solve

To reach Genius

2LL

10

Few pairs

Unique two-letter openings

Bingo Status

No

Missing: E, N

All 7 letters start at least 1 word

GN4L

20

words to Genius
3×10L2×9L7×8L2×7L6×6L

GN4L OTN

Yes

Exact 167 pts
20 words3×10L2×9L7×8L2×7L5×6L1×5L

Vowel Split

38%

Balanced mix

96 vowels · 156 consonants

Score Milestones

  • 0%Beginner0 PTS
  • 5%Good Start12 PTS
  • 15%Moving Up36 PTS
  • 25%Good60 PTS
  • 40%Solid96 PTS
  • 50%Nice120 PTS
  • 60%Great143 PTS
  • 65%Amazing155 PTS
  • 70%Genius167 PTS
  • 100%Queen Bee239 PTS

Full List of NYT Spelling Bee Answers

Here is the complete list of 40 answers for the New York Times Spelling Bee puzzle for Thursday, July 23, 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

F
38%
U
20%
C
18%

Try starting with these letters when you're stuck.

Puzzle Letters

Previous2026-07-22
Today's AnswersGo to Today

Pangrams

Reveal letter by letter or uncover a full solution

The Center letter is highlighted in Yellow.
Other days with this pangram

Complete Answers

Sort it your way: longest words or highest scores.

10-Letter Words 3 words

9-Letter Words 2 words

8-Letter Words 7 words

7-Letter Words 2 words

6-Letter Words 13 words

5-Letter Words 4 words

4-Letter Words 9 words

Browse calendar of past puzzles

Word Length Distribution

9 words
4L
9
4 words
5L
4
13 words
6L
13
2 words
7L
2
7 words
8L
7
2 words (Pangram)
9L
2
3 words (Pangram)
10L
3

Share of 40 answers at each word length.

Letter Coverage

F
40 words
100%
D
36 words
90%
E
30 words
75%
N
29 words
73%
U
25 words
63%
O
17 words
43%
C
13 words
33%

Share of 40 words using each hive letter.

Points by Length

9 pts
9
4L
20 pts
20
5L
78 pts
78
6L
14 pts
14
7L
56 pts
56
8L
25 pts (Pangram)
25
9L
37 pts (Pangram)
37
10L

Total points available at each word length.

Letter Frequency Distribution

F
1538%
U
820%
C
718%
D
718%
O
38%

Share of 40 words starting with each letter.

How does this puzzle compare to other puzzles?

  • Today’s score of 239 ranks in the 70th percentile among all puzzles.
  • The last time a score this low appeared was on 2026-07-22.
  • The highest score recorded is 506, seen on 2023-09-24.
  • The lowest score recorded is 47, seen on 2023-03-27.
  • With 40 possible answers, this puzzle falls in the 42nd percentile overall.
  • The last puzzle with fewer answers occurred on 2026-07-22.
  • 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 Low, compared to typical puzzles.
  • Puzzles with similar letter rarity last appeared on 2026-07-21.
  • The estimated solve time of 33–45 min is comparable 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*:

  • cofeoffee
  • coff
  • conf
  • confed
  • coof
  • defence
  • duffed
  • effund
  • enfeoff
  • enfeoffed
  • fedn
  • feeded
  • fennec
  • feod
  • feoff
  • feoffed
  • feoffee
  • feued
  • fonded
  • fondon
  • fondu
  • fone
  • foud
  • fuff
  • funned
  • nonfecund
  • nonfood
  • nonfunded
  • offence
  • unconfound
  • unconfounded
  • undoffed
  • unfecund
  • unfeed
  • unfence
  • unfeoffed
  • unfeued
  • unfond
  • unfound

*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.

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