5-letter words with W as the 3rd letter and N as the 4th letter

The fixed W-N pair leaves just 27 tournament-dictionary words, and their endings do much of the sorting for you. TOWNS, DOWNS, GOWNS, LAWNS, and PAWNS show the familiar plural shape; TAWNY and DOWNY offer a different finish. Only 4 entries rank among the commonest English words, so expect plenty of less familiar plays.

At a glance: the W-N pattern

• 27 tournament-dictionary words have W third and N fourth.
• All 27 appear in Collins; 14 are in NWL2023 and 13 are in ENABLE.
• S is the most frequent ending, with 12 words; Y follows with 7.
• L begins 5 matches, while D and P each begin 4.
• The average score is 10, and YAWNY and FAWNY top the list at 14.

Which endings are most common?

S and Y together account for 19 of the 27 matches. That split is a useful solving shortcut: once W and N are fixed, test an S ending or a Y ending before spending guesses on the smaller groups.

The S words include familiar plurals such as TOWNS, DOWNS, GOWNS, LAWNS, and PAWNS. The Y group includes TAWNY, DOWNY, and YAWNY. These examples make the contrast clear: one ending often gives you a plural, while the other produces adjective-like forms.

The remaining words end in D, E, or A. Just 4 end in D, 3 in E, and 1 in A, so those endings are less likely than S or Y but still belong in a complete pattern search.

How should you use these words in a puzzle?

• For Wordle, 2 matches are answer-list entries, while all 27 are allowed guesses.
• For a scoring play, YAWNY and FAWNY lead at 14 points; POWNY follows at 13.
• Do not assume every match is familiar: only 4 meet the common-word cutoff.
• Check your game's word list before playing an obscure entry; dictionary coverage differs.