7-letter words with U as the 1st letter and D as the 5th letter

In 14 of the 15 words the D is followed by an E, and nine of the words end in -DED, as in UNFADED, UNCODED and UPENDED. Three -DES plurals and three one-offs, UNGODLY, UNLADEN and UNORDER, complete the set. That makes this a short pattern that rewards memorising the ending.

Every word, sorted by ending

• -DED (9): UNJADED, UNFADED, UNCODED, UPENDED, UNCEDED, UNADDED, UNAIDED, UNENDED and UNLADED.
• -DES (3): UPSIDES, UNLADES and UREIDES.
• One each: UNGODLY, UNLADEN and UNORDER.
• Collins accepts all 15, NWL2023 accepts 14 and ENABLE accepts 12.

What is the highest-scoring word with U first and D fifth?

UNJADED scores 16 and is the only word above 12. The J is worth 8 points and the rest of the tiles are cheap, so the word wins on one letter.

UNFADED and UNGODLY tie at 12. UNGODLY is the only word that ends in Y, so it breaks the -DED run. UNCODED, UPENDED and UNCEDED follow at 11, and the average is 10.1.

The -DES words are lower scorers: UPSIDES makes 10, while UNLADES and UREIDES make 8 each. UNORDER, the Collins-only entry, also makes 8. If you need points, stay with the -DED set.

Why do 12 of the 15 start with UN-?

UN- attaches freely to participles, which is why so many words end in -ED. UP- appears twice, in UPENDED and UPSIDES, and UREIDES stands alone.

Pick the third letter after UN-: L gives UNLADED, UNLADEN and UNLADES, C gives UNCODED and UNCEDED, and A gives UNAIDED and UNADDED. A single fourth letter, A, appears in five words, which makes it the first thing to test.

Dictionary notes