7-letter words with Y as the 2nd letter and N as the 7th letter

Every word in ?Y????N ends in N, so the real choice is the last two letters. Seven end in -ON, five in -AN, five in -EN and four in -IN. The X and Z openers take the four best scores, and TYPHOON is the only common word.

?Y????N facts to remember

• 21 words fit; Collins takes all 21, NWL2023 takes 17 and ENABLE takes 15.
• C, L and S each open three words; X and Z open two each.
• ZYMOGEN scores 22 and ZYMOSAN 21; the average is 14.3.
• 1 of the 21 is common, and 18 have definitions.
• The final two letters are -ON for 7 words, -AN and -EN for 5 each, and -IN for 4.

What ends these words?

-ON gives TYPHOON, SYNANON, MYLODON, HYPERON, LYRICON, SYMBION and SYNTHON. -AN gives CYPRIAN, ZYMOSAN, BYREMAN, LYNCEAN and PYGMEAN, and -EN gives ZYMOGEN, PYROGEN, LYSOGEN, XYLOGEN and BYREMEN.

The -IN group is TYLOSIN, CYCASIN, CYSTEIN and XYLIDIN. Four endings sort all 21 words, so you only need the middle letters.

The -GEN quartet has a scientific flavour, and it is the quickest group to spot on a rack: ZYMOGEN, PYROGEN, LYSOGEN and XYLOGEN differ only in their first three letters.

Why do X and Z words dominate scoring?

ZYMOGEN scores 22 and ZYMOSAN 21 because Z is worth 10. XYLIDIN and XYLOGEN score 18 with the 8-point X, and TYPHOON and HYPERON are next at 15.

TYPHOON, HYPERON and PYGMEAN come next at 15 each, so the gap between the Z and X words and the rest is three points or more.

XYLOGEN is Collins-only, as are BYREMAN, BYREMEN and SYNTHON. NWL2023 accepts 17 of the 21 and ENABLE 15, so verify the exact entry in your game's word list.

Which patterns are close?