7-letter words with U as the 3rd letter and I as the 6th letter

Put I in sixth place and only one slot remains, and E claims it 33 times. Those -IE words are mostly diminutives and informal spellings. The other 54 spread across -IN, -IC, -ID and -IA endings, with COUNCIL and AQUATIC as the only everyday words.

Where the 87 words land

• Collins lists 82 words, NWL2023 lists 54 and ENABLE lists 44.
• Just two are common: COUNCIL and AQUATIC.
• Final letters: E ends 33, N ends 13, C ends 10, D ends 7 and A ends 6, including OPUNTIA and AQUARIA.
• S opens 20 words, C opens 10, B opens 9 and D opens 8.
• The average score is 11.8.

Which 7-letter words with U 3rd and I 6th end in -IE?

The -HIE group is the biggest, with 8 words such as PLUSHIE, SLUSHIE and TOUGHIE. -KIE has four, including CHUCKIE and FLUNKIE, -GIE has four, including DRUGGIE and BOURGIE, and -ZIE and -TIE each have three.

More than a third of the frame, 33 of 87, ends this way. Some of them, such as CHUCKIE and CRUIZIE, are Collins-only, so confirm your game's list before relying on an -IE guess.

What are the other endings?

-IN gives DAUPHIN, BLUEFIN, MAUDLIN, SCULPIN and DRUMLIN. -IC gives AQUATIC, CAUSTIC and PRUSSIC, while BOUDOIR and COUNCIL stand apart with -IR and -IL tails. SQUALID, an -ID word, scores 17 with its 10-point Q and is a more familiar play than either AQUA word.

AQUAVIT and AQUAFIT are the top scorers at 19, with AQUATIC, CHUCKIE and BRULZIE close behind at 18. AQUAFIT is NWL2023-only and CHUCKIE is Collins-only, while AQUAVIT and BRULZIE are in all three dictionaries.

Which -IE groups should you test first?