7-letter words with U as the 3rd letter and L as the 7th letter
There are 30 7-letter words with U as the 3rd letter and L as the 7th, and seven of them end in -IAL, like CRUCIAL.
7 of 30 are everyday words (23%). A mix of familiar words and game-only finds.
With U in 3rd place, S is the most common 7th letter (373 words). The bar under each letter shows the size of its list.
- Length
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
- 15
Best words to play first
- COUNCIL11
- JOURNAL14
- UNUSUAL7
- CRUCIAL11
- NEUTRAL7
- COUNSEL9
- SOULFUL10
- DIURNAL8
- CRUSTAL9
- FLUVIAL13
- GLUTEAL8
- ROUNDEL8
- PLUVIAL12
- TRUCIAL9
- CHUNNEL12
- TRUNCAL9
- ELUVIAL10
- STUMMEL11
- ABUTTAL9
- EQUINAL16
- EXUVIAL17
- FAUCIAL12
- FLUIDAL11
- NOUSELL7
- PLUTEAL9
- POUNDAL10
- POUTFUL12
- SCURRIL9
- SPUDGEL11
- TRUNNEL7
All valid words 30
Highest-scoring words
| Word | Scrabble | Words With Friends | Dictionaries |
|---|---|---|---|
| EXUVIAL | 17 | 20 | All three |
| EQUINAL | 16 | 19 | Collins only |
| JOURNAL | 14 | 19 | All three |
| FLUVIAL | 13 | 17 | All three |
| PLUVIAL | 12 | 17 | All three |
| CHUNNEL | 12 | 16 | Collins · NWL |
| FAUCIAL | 12 | 15 | All three |
| POUTFUL | 12 | 16 | All three |
| COUNCIL | 11 | 16 | All three |
| CRUCIAL | 11 | 15 | All three |
| STUMMEL | 11 | 15 | Collins only |
| FLUIDAL | 11 | 14 | All three |
L closes every word here, so the real question is what sits in front of it. -IAL is the biggest answer, with CRUCIAL, FLUVIAL, PLUVIAL and TRUCIAL. After that come -NAL, -TAL, -NEL, -FUL and -EAL, each with two or three words.
The 30 words in numbers
- Dictionary coverage: 29 words in Collins, 25 in NWL2023, 22 in ENABLE.
- Seven are common: COUNCIL, JOURNAL, UNUSUAL, CRUCIAL, NEUTRAL, COUNSEL and SOULFUL.
- C opens 5 words, P and S open 4 each, and E and F open 3 each.
- Top scores: EXUVIAL 17, EQUINAL 16, JOURNAL 14, FLUVIAL 13.
- The average score is 10.3.
Which 7-letter words with U 3rd end in -IAL?
Seven do: CRUCIAL, TRUCIAL, FAUCIAL, FLUVIAL, PLUVIAL, ELUVIAL and EXUVIAL. CRUCIAL is the common one. FLUVIAL, PLUVIAL, ELUVIAL and EXUVIAL form a -VIAL set that points to rivers, rain, soil and shed skins.
-NAL gives JOURNAL, DIURNAL and EQUINAL, and -TAL gives CRUSTAL and ABUTTAL. COUNCIL and COUNSEL show that -CIL and -SEL endings are also possible.
-NEL and -FUL add two each: CHUNNEL and TRUNNEL, and SOULFUL and POUTFUL.
Which words score best?
EXUVIAL leads at 17, thanks to the X, and EQUINAL follows at 16 with the Q. Both are less familiar than JOURNAL, which scores 14 and is valid in every major dictionary.
Five words, EQUINAL, NOUSELL, PLUTEAL, STUMMEL and TRUCIAL, are Collins-only. The other 25 are available in at least one North American list.
NEUTRAL, COUNSEL and UNUSUAL are the best everyday plays here, and none needs a Collins list. UNUSUAL stands alone as the only -UAL word in the frame.
Playing an L-ender
A board L gives you a natural hook for JOURNAL, COUNCIL and CRUCIAL. With only 30 words in the frame, learn the seven -IAL words first and the rest follow by shape.
Questions people ask
How many 7-letter words have U in third place and L in seventh?
What -IAL words fit U 3rd and L 7th?
Which common words end in L with U as the third letter?
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