7-letter words with U as the 2nd letter and I as the 7th letter

With I in the final slot, this frame, _ U _ _ _ _ I, is mostly a list of foreign loanwords and Latin plurals. None of the 17 is among the top 25,000 English words, which makes it a pattern for word-list players rather than everyday readers. The whole set fits on one screen.

All 17 words at a glance

• Collins accepts all 17, while NWL2023 and ENABLE accept 8 each.
• S opens 4 words, and F, N and O open 2 each.
• ZUFFOLI and JUKSKEI tie for the top score at 22.
• -ARI ends 3 words: OUAKARI, SUFFARI and SUNDARI.

Which of the 17 are worth knowing?

Start with the ones that play everywhere: GUARANI, FUSILLI, NUCELLI, QUILLAI, PULVINI, SUFFARI, TURFSKI and SUCCUBI. These eight appear in Collins, NWL2023 and ENABLE alike.

The rest are Collins-only, including FUMETTI, NURAGHI, OUSTITI and BUSUUTI. In a North American game they come back as invalid, so their value depends entirely on the dictionary you are playing.

The openings are just as short a list. S starts SUCCUBI, SUFFARI, SUNDARI and SURCULI, while F, N and O each start two: FUMETTI and FUSILLI, NUCELLI and NURAGHI, OUAKARI and OUSTITI. Every other opener has a single word.

Why do they all end in I?

The frame fixes the last letter, so every answer ends in -I. That tail is typically an Italian or Latin plural, as in FUSILLI, FUMETTI and PULVINI, or a loanword such as GUARANI, the currency of Paraguay.

Two words end in -LLI: NUCELLI and FUSILLI. Three end in -ARI, and the rest scatter. Because the tail is shared, the first three letters decide almost everything.

Where the points are