5-letter words with A as the 2nd letter and E as the 3rd letter

This pattern fixes the middle two letters as A and E, leaving only the first and final positions open. The result is a short, unusual set: none of its entries rank among common English words. You’ll see familiar-looking forms such as PAean only in lowercase as paean, alongside less familiar options like laevo and naevi.

At a glance: 14 matches and no common entries

• There are 14 tournament-dictionary words with A second and E third.
• All 14 appear in Collins; 10 also appear in ENABLE and 10 in NWL2023.
• FAERY scores 11 points, the highest score among these entries.
• Five words end in S, the most frequent final letter in this group.

Which first and final letters appear most?

The first letter is spread across eight choices. C, F, H, L, N, and P each begin two entries; B and T each begin one. That makes the opening letter a poor shortcut for narrowing the group unless your board already rules out several options.

The endings are more concentrated. Five words finish in S, while A, E, and N each close two; I, O, and Y each appear once. If your final square is fixed, ending in S gives you the strongest first filter.

5-letter words with A as the 2nd letter and E as the 3rd letter

FAERY tops the scoring options at 11 points, followed by HAEMS at 10 and CAECA at 9. FAENA, HAETS, LAEVO, NAEVI, and NAEVE each score 8. The group averages 7.7 points, so FAERY stands out rather than reflecting a high-scoring set overall.

The vocabulary is the catch: none of the 14 entries is classed as common. PAean and paeon may look more recognizable, but this pattern is not a reliable source of everyday guesses. Check your game’s word list before playing an unfamiliar form.

For Wordle, 14 entries are allowed guesses, but none are answers. That distinction matters: a guess can be accepted without ever being a solution. For a broader pattern search, compare the A-second, C-third set or browse the full five-letter hub.