7-letter words with N as the 3rd letter and L as the 5th letter

The pattern is _ _ N _ L _ _, so the first, second, fourth, sixth, and seventh letters remain open. Familiar words share space with less common entries: FINALLY and PENALTY are easy to spot, while CONFLUX and ZONALLY stand out for their scores. Only 13 matches rank among the most common English words, so expect many unfamiliar possibilities.

The pattern at a glance

• There are 182 matches in the tournament-dictionary lists.
• C leads as the first letter with 16 matches; M follows with 15.
• S is the most common final letter, ending 66 words; D ends 41.
• Collins includes 179 matches, compared with 148 in NWL2023.
• FINALLY, PENALTY, SINGLES, and HANDLED are recognizable examples.

7-letter words with N as the 3rd letter and L as the 5th letter

The third-letter N group has 182 matches when the fifth letter is L. That is more than the 141 matches with M in the third position, but fewer than the 174 with R there.

The fifth position makes a sharp difference: keeping N third while changing L to I yields 605 matches, and changing it to E yields 448. L narrows the pattern substantially, so test both fixed letters before filling the open spaces.

Which matches are easier to recognize?

Start with everyday forms such as HANDLES, CANDLES, BUNDLES, and TANGLES. Many visible examples end in S, matching the strong S ending count; HANDLED and TANGLED show that D is another productive finish. R is third with 28 words, including HANDLER and GENTLER.

For Scrabble scoring, CONFLUX, ZONALLY, and FUNPLEX each score 19 points before board bonuses. JANGLED and JINGLED score 16. These high-value options are much less familiar than FINALLY or PENALTY, so check your game's word list before building around one.

The average score is 10.7, so a 19-point play sits well above a typical match. Also, 152 of the 182 matches have definitions, which makes an obscure candidate easier to look up before you commit.