5-letter words with R as the 1st letter and A as the 4th letter

The pattern is R _ _ A _, so the fourth letter is fixed while the middle two stay open. Familiar matches include ROYAL, RURAL, ROMAN, RADAR, RELAX, and RIVAL. Only 13 of the 61 entries rank among the top 25,000 English words by frequency, so the full tournament list reaches well beyond everyday vocabulary.

The pattern at a glance

• The pattern has 61 words accepted by at least one tournament dictionary.
• Thirteen matches are common by English word-frequency ranking.
• Thirteen entries match the Wordle answer list; 60 match its allowed-guess list.
• Fourteen words end in L and fourteen end in S, together making up about 46% of the matches.

Which R _ _ A _ words are common or in Wordle?

ROYAL, RURAL, ROMAN, RELAX, RADAR, and RIVAL are recognizable choices among the common matches. RELAY, REHAB, REPAY, and RECAP add several more familiar options, while 48 of the 61 entries do not fall in the common-word group.

Thirteen words fit the Wordle answer list, and all 13 also appear in a tournament dictionary. The allowed-guess list is much broader at 60 matches, so a guess being accepted does not mean it is an answer. When solving, use the fourth-position A as a firm constraint rather than treating every accepted guess as equally likely.

5-letter words with R as the 1st letter and A as the 4th letter

ROJAK is the standout Scrabble scorer at 16 points before board bonuses. RAJAH and REWAX each score 15, followed by RIZAS at 14. By contrast, familiar RELAX scores 12, so an obscure word can beat a common one even before premium squares change the result.

Collins includes all 61 matches, compared with 40 in NWL2023 and 38 in ENABLE. That split matters in tournament play: a word accepted in Collins is not automatically accepted in an NWL2023 or ENABLE game. Check the word list used at your table, especially before building around less familiar options such as ROJAK or REWAX.