7-letter words with U as the 1st letter and L as the 2nd letter

UL- is a rare opening, which is why this is the shortest list of its kind. Seven of the 15 words end in S, and the openings ULL-, ULT-, ULI- and ULU- cover 10 of them. No word is common English, so everything here is word-list material.

The complete list by opening

• ULL- (3): ULLAGED, ULLAGES and ULLINGS.
• ULT- (3): ULTIMAS, ULTIONS and ULTISOL. ULI- (2): ULIKONS and ULICONS.
• ULU- (2): ULULANT and ULULATE.
• Singles: ULEXITE, ULPANIM, ULCERED, ULNARIA and ULSTERS.

Which word scores the most with U first and L second?

ULEXITE makes 14 thanks to the X. ULIKONS and ULPANIM follow on 11, ULCERED on 10, and ULICONS, ULLAGED and ULTIMAS on 9.

The average is 8.7, so the pattern is modest and ULEXITE stands well clear. It is a mineral name and is accepted in Collins, NWL2023 and ENABLE.

After ULEXITE the scores drop quickly, so a play of 10 or more is a good return in this pattern. Only ULEXITE, ULIKONS, ULPANIM and ULCERED reach it.

How do the endings split?

Seven words end in S: ULIKONS, ULICONS, ULLAGES, ULLINGS, ULSTERS, ULTIONS and ULTIMAS. Three of those finish in -ONS, namely ULIKONS, ULICONS and ULTIONS, and all three are Collins-only.

Two end in -ED (ULCERED and ULLAGED), two in -E (ULEXITE and ULULATE), and the rest end in M, A, L and T. The fifth letter is O in three words and N, R, G and A in two each.

Which words are playable in each game?

Collins accepts 14 of the 15, NWL2023 accepts 10 and ENABLE accepts 9. Five are Collins-only: ULIKONS, ULICONS, ULLINGS, ULNARIA and ULTIONS.

ULTISOL is the reverse case, an NWL2023 word that Collins lacks. Everything else, including ULEXITE, ULPANIM, ULCERED, ULLAGED, ULLAGES, ULSTERS, ULULANT and ULULATE, is valid in at least NWL2023 and Collins.