7-letter words with L as the 2nd letter and A as the 4th letter

That fixed pattern produces a compact set, and familiar entries sit beside less common plays. CLEARED, CLEANED, and PLEASED are recognizable examples; only 12 matches rank among the most common English words. The mix matters: a pattern solver can narrow the possibilities, but a game’s dictionary decides which candidates actually count.

At a glance: the L-A pattern

• 99 entries match the two fixed positions; only 12 are marked common.
• A is the leading first letter with 26 matches, followed by C with 16 and P with 13.
• Final S, D, and R occur in 27, 21, and 17 words respectively.
• FLYAWAY and ALFAQUI top the scoring examples at 19 Scrabble points each.

Which endings dominate this pattern?

S, D, and R together finish 65 of the 99 words, or about two thirds. That concentration makes the last letter a strong next check when your puzzle already fixes L second and A fourth. A final S points toward forms such as PLEASES or ALIASES; D fits CLEARED and CLEANED.

The first letter is less concentrated: A leads with 26, while C and P contribute 16 and 13. Try a familiar stem before reaching for an obscure entry. CLEAR-, CLEAN-, and PLEASE- produce several candidates, including CLEARER, CLEANER, and PLEATED.

What are the strongest scoring options?

FLYAWAY and ALFAQUI each score 19 points in Scrabble before board bonuses. ALCAZAR follows at 18, while BLEAKLY scores 16. FLYAWAY is the more recognizable high-value choice; ALFAQUI and some other top scorers are much less familiar, so don’t mistake a strong tile score for an everyday word.

Dictionary coverage changes the practical list: 77 entries appear in ENABLE, 96 in Collins, and 81 in NWL2023. Check your game’s word list before playing a borderline candidate. For comparison, the same L-second, A-fourth pattern has 63 six-letter matches and 53 five-letter matches, so length changes the size of the search sharply.