7-letter words with V as the 1st letter and L as the 6th letter

L in sixth place sits just before the final letter, and that makes the last two letters the whole story. -LY ends 18 words, -LS ends 15 and -LE ends 14, so three tails cover 47 of the 57. Pick the right tail and the first half falls into place.

V-first, L-sixth words at a glance

• Size: 57 words, all in Collins; NWL2023 lists 46 and ENABLE 43.
• Everyday words: 8, including VEHICLE, VISIBLE, VESSELS, VANILLA, VISUALS, VAGUELY, VISIBLY and VIVIDLY.
• Final letters: Y ends 18 words, S ends 15 and E ends 14.
• Top scorers: VEXEDLY at 21, VIXENLY at 20, then four words at 17.
• Average score: 13.0 points.

Which words end in -LY, -LS or -LE?

The -LY adverbs include VAGUELY, VISIBLY, VIVIDLY, VALIDLY, VAPIDLY, VOCALLY and VITALLY. -LS words are mostly plurals: VESSELS, VISUALS, VANDALS, VASSALS, VERBALS and VESTALS.

Six of the 15 -LS words end in -ALS: VANDALS, VASSALS, VERBALS, VESTALS, VISUALS and VERSALS. Another six end in -ELS, such as VESSELS and VENNELS.

-LE gives VEHICLE, VISIBLE, VESICLE, VOLUBLE and VOCABLE, among others. Together these three tails account for 47 words, more than four in five.

Three pairs differ only in the last letter: VISIBLE and VISIBLY, VOLUBLE and VOLUBLY, VOCABLE and VOCABLY. Learn one and you have both. VISIBLY scores 15 against 12 for VISIBLE, because Y is worth 4.

What fits the other ten words?

The leftovers mostly end in A: VANILLA, VEXILLA, VARIOLA, VIHUELA, VINCULA, VALVULA and VASCULA make seven. VITELLI and VOLVULI end in I, and VERMELL ends in L.

VEXILLA scores 17 on the 8-point X, while VANILLA makes only 10. Among the ten outliers, VANILLA is the only everyday word, so expect the rest to be rare.

Where the points are