6-letter words with F as the 2nd letter and E as the 4th letter

Nine of the fifteen double the F in slots two and three, which is why EFFECT and AFFECT both reach 14 points. Every match opens with a vowel, since A begins seven, E begins five and O begins three. F is also the thinnest second letter for an E-fourth word, at 15 matches against 328 for A and 290 for E.

6-letter words with F as the 2nd letter and E as the 4th letter

• All 15 matches begin with a vowel, and only A, E and O ever take that first slot.
• Nine matches double the F in positions two and three, among them EFFECT, AFFECT and OFFEND.
• EFFECT and AFFECT tie for the top score on 14 points each.
• Just four matches sit inside the 25,000 most common English words.
• T closes five matches and R closes three, keeping the endings tightly grouped.

Which words here score the most?

EFFECT and AFFECT share the 14-point ceiling, each built on a doubled F and a final T. OFFEND follows at 13, then OFFERS, AFRESH, EFFETE, AFFEER, AFFEAR, EFFEIR and EFFERE all land on 12. That doubled F keeps the top of the list unusually flat.

Four entries are common: EFFECT, AFFECT, OFFEND and OFFERS, with AFIELD barely outside that group. The remaining words run archaic, from AFRESH and EFFETE to AFFEER and EFTEST. A crossword setter hunting this pattern will usually reach for the plain four first.

Where these matches fall short

Only four of the 15 are common, and just eight carry a definition, so the pattern is a specialist tool rather than a vocabulary list. AFFEAR, EFFEIR, EFFERE and EFTEST sit in Collins alone. Check your word list before you commit to one of them.

Two consequences follow. First, a clue that fixes F second and E fourth often leaves only one or two familiar candidates. Second, the second-slot F is itself rare, since A fills that position in 328 E-fourth words, E in 290 and O in 282, against just 15 for F.