5-letter words with L as the 2nd letter and I as the 4th letter

The pattern is _L_I_, and its 36 tournament-dictionary matches range from familiar CLAIM and PLAIN to less common entries such as ULZIE and CLEIK. Only seven meet the common-word frequency cutoff. The final letter is often N: 12 words end that way, making it the strongest ending clue in this group.

The pattern at a glance

• 36 words match _L_I_ across the tournament dictionaries.
• CLAIM, PLAIN, FLUID, and FLAIR are among the recognizable options.
• ULZIE leads the scoring list at 14 points.
• Twelve words end in N; seven end in D.
• Nine matches are Wordle answers, and all 36 are allowed guesses.

How many 5-letter words have L second and I fourth?

There are 36 matches. The opening letter is spread across the set: A begins six words, E begins five, and O and S each begin four. CLAIM and PLAIN show how the same pattern can start with different consonants.

The last position narrows the search more sharply. N closes 12 matches, including PLAIN, SLAIN, and ELFIN; D closes seven, including FLUID and PLAID. If your puzzle shows N at the end, check that group before testing less common endings.

Only seven entries fall within the common-word frequency cutoff, so a large share of the set is unfamiliar to many players. OLLIE and OLDIE are recognizable alternatives, while CLEIK and ULZIE are much less everyday choices.

Dictionary coverage varies: Collins lists all 36, while NWL2023 lists 24 and ENABLE lists 21. Those counts overlap, so a word accepted in one list may not work in another; check your game's dictionary before relying on an obscure match.

Choose a guess that tests more than the pattern

For 5-letter words with L as the 2nd letter and I as the 4th letter, CLAIM and PLAIN are strong familiar candidates when you need to test common letters. FLAIR checks a different opening and ending, while FLUID tests a D finish.

The score leader is not the safest everyday guess: ULZIE scores 14 points, but only seven words in the set meet the common-word cutoff. Treat high-scoring entries as game-list possibilities, not as a shortcut to a likely answer.