Today’s New York Times Spelling Bee puzzle featured N as the central letter, with the outer letters U, T, L, E, O, P. At first glance, the letter set looked promising for forming a variety of medium- and long-length words — especially since we had both vowels and a couple of consonants that combine well. After some systematic thinking, I uncovered the pangram: OPULENT.

Let’s walk through how I solved it and all the other words I found along the way.

Step 1: Identifying the Pangram

When approaching a Spelling Bee puzzle, I always start by scanning for longer words that can use all seven letters. The combination of O, P, U, L, E, N, T quickly brought OPULENT to mind. It’s a common, elegant word meaning “rich” or “luxurious,” and it perfectly fit the criteria: all letters used, with N in the center, and at least seven letters long.

Finding the pangram early is always a boost — it sets the tone for solving and gives you a base to work from.

Step 2: Building Word Families

After securing OPULENT, I broke it down into smaller root segments to build word families:

• ONE / NOTE / TONE / LONE group

• OPEN / POLE / PELT / LENT group

• POUT / TUNE / PULE / NOEL group

By grouping words like this, you can systematically explore variations, plurals, and verb tenses without skipping potential options.

Step 3: Mixing Short and Medium Words

I try to alternate between easy 4-letter finds and more challenging 6-letter ones. For instance, after finding NOTE and POLE, I jumped to PELTON (not valid here) and TULONE (also invalid), which nudged me toward checking similar endings. This kind of trial-and-error helps jog the brain for related valid words.

Step 4: Looking for Less Obvious Words

Some Spelling Bee words aren’t everyday vocabulary. Words like UNLET (meaning “not let or leased”) or POULT (a young bird) may appear in the accepted list even if they’re uncommon in speech. Keeping an open mind to rare but legitimate words can help you reach the higher ranks in the game.

Pangram

• OPULENT

How many words are in NYT Spelling Bee today

(Note: The NYT accepted words list may differ slightly.)

4-Letter Words:

• LONE
• NOTE
• NOEL
• ONET
• OPEN
• PELT
• PULE
• POLE
• POUT
• PONE
• TONE
• TUNE
• UNTO
• LUNE

5-Letter Words:

• UNLET
• POULT
• PLENT
• LENTO
• TONNE
• PUNTO
• PELON

6-Letter Words:

• UNOPEN
• ENTOPL (if accepted)
• TENOUR (variant spelling of tenor, if allowed)
• UNTONE
• NETTLE
• PENULT
• POLLEN
• TUNEUP
• TUNNEL
• UNTUNE

7+ Letter Words:

• OPULENT (pangram)
• UNPELTO (if accepted)
• ENTENTE
• LUNETTE
• PONTOON
• OPPONENT
• TENTPOLE

Tips for Solving Puzzles Like This

1. Spot the pangram first – This can guide your entire search.

2. Group by roots – Identifying shared beginnings or endings makes finding related words easier.

3. Don’t ignore obscure words – Sometimes, rare dictionary entries give you those last few points you need.

4. Switch word lengths frequently – It keeps your thinking fresh.

5. Review systematically – Go letter by letter to ensure you’ve covered all possibilities.

Did You Spot the Pangram?

Today’s puzzle was a balanced mix — the pangram OPULENT stood out early, but the challenge was in squeezing out every last valid combination. If you’re aiming for Queen Bee, remember that organization and persistence are your best friends.

How did you do today? Did you spot OPULENT quickly, or did it take you a while? Share your approach in the comments — you might help someone improve their solving skills for tomorrow’s puzzle.