Today’s Spelling Bee puzzle brought an exciting mix of letters that looked deceptively simple at first glance: I in the center, surrounded by H, N, L, A, T, E. With two strong vowels (A and E), one central vowel (I), and a blend of consonants that naturally form smooth English syllables, this hive practically promised a long, meaningful pangram.

After exploring smaller combinations, expanding root patterns, and testing longer formations, the final word revealed itself with satisfying clarity: ANNIHILATE.

This post breaks down how I solved today’s puzzle step by step, what word families led me toward the solution, and all the valid words that emerged from the grid.

First Impressions of the Hive

The moment the puzzle loaded, I noticed a few things:

• Multiple vowels: A, E, and the required I

• High-frequency consonants: N, L, T

• Pattern-forming letters: The combination “H + I + N” jumped out immediately

• Potential for repetition words: Because N and A appear around a vowel, doubling becomes possible

When a puzzle contains many syllabic fragments like in, an, lin, tan, hail, and late, it usually means one or more large words hide inside the hive.

Warming Up With Short Words

I always begin by gathering the easiest 3- to 4-letter words. This helps build momentum and reveals patterns.

Early finds included:

• hit, hat, hin, lit, lie, let, tan, tin, tie

• lane, lean, line, hail, nail, late, tale, lint, thin, than

These small words are crucial—they show how letters naturally combine and which paths are promising. Today, combinations with an–, in–, lin–, and hail– kept reappearing.

Moving to Medium and Long Words

Once I had the shorter words, I moved to longer ones, exploring word families and expansions:

• inhale

• entail

• elation (invalid here due to “O”)

• annal, annate

• inane

• inlet

• alienate (too many repeats, but hints at letter structure)

Then something interesting happened: several words suggested doubling—like annal and annate, which rely on double N or double A sound patterns. This was a major clue.

Any puzzle that supports repeated consonants or vowels often hides a large, multi-syllable word.

 The A-N-N Pattern — The Key to Cracking It

The turning point came when I noticed how often words began with “in–” or “an–.” That led me to experiment with structures like:

• ann–

• anni–

• annih–

And that’s when the letters clicked together:

A + N + N + I + H + I + L + A + T + E

The puzzle’s pangram—

ANNIHILATE

—uses all seven letters plus the center letter I, includes the double N pattern, and fits perfectly.

It’s a powerful, recognizable English verb meaning to destroy completely or to eliminate.

Its length and structure make it one of the most satisfying pangrams we’ve had recently.

Bee answer breakdown Full Word List From Today’s Puzzle

Short Words  

alit anti atilt elite hail hill hilt hint inane inlet innie intel lain lanai lien lilt line linen lint lite lithe nail nine nite tail tali thin thine tile till tilt tilth tine tint titan tithe title

Medium Words

inhale
entail
anthill

attain

entitle

halite

heinie

hiatal

initial

innate

intent

lenient

lentil

lineal

linnet

lintel

little

tahini

tallit

tannin

tittle

Long Words

annihilate ← pangram

alienate inhalant initiate nineteen ninetieth titillate

Vocabulary Wins of the Day

Today’s Spelling Bee puzzle was a perfect example of how word patterns, letter doubling, and vowel placement guide the solver toward hidden structures. By paying attention to frequent clusters like in–, an–, and ann–, the path to ANNIHILATE gradually unfolded.

It’s a long, dramatic, satisfying word—and undeniably the star of today’s grid.

See you tomorrow for the next pangram hunt!