The Unofficial Hive

NYT Spelling Bee answers & analysis

AGINRTV

Thursday, September 18, 2025

Words
21
Points
169
Genius
118
Pangrams
2

Official answers

Show the 21 answersHide answers

Pangrams highlighted. Click a word for its definition.

  • aggravating

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • arriving

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • avatar

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • avian

    noun — A bird.

    adjective — Characteristic of or pertaining to birds, or to bird-like or flying creatures.

    noun — A bird-like or flying creature.

    noun — (furry fandom) Someone who roleplays or describes themselves as being a bird or bird-like animal character with human characteristics.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • aviating

    verb — To operate an aircraft.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • giving

    verb — (ditransitive) To move, shift, provide something abstract or concrete to someone or something or somewhere.

    noun — The act of bestowing as a gift; a conferring or imparting.

    adjective — Having the tendency to give; generous

    verb — (ditransitive) To estimate or predict (a duration or probability) for (something).

    verb — To yield slightly when a force is applied.

    verb — To collapse under pressure or force.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • gravitating

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • invariant

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • inviting

    verb — To ask for the presence or participation of someone or something.

    noun — Invitation

    adjective — Alluring; tempting; attractive.

    verb — To request formally.

    verb — To encourage.

    verb — To allure; to draw to; to tempt to come; to induce by pleasure or hope; to attract.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • navigating

    verb — To plan, control and record the position and course of a vehicle, ship, aircraft, etc., on a journey; to follow a planned course.

    verb — To give directions, as from a map, to someone driving a vehicle.

    verb — To travel over water in a ship; to sail.

    verb — To move between web pages, menus, etc. by means of hyperlinks, mouse clicks, or any other mechanism.

    verb — To find a way through a difficult situation or process.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • nirvana

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • ravaging

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • raving

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • titivating

    verb — To make small improvements or alterations to (one's appearance etc.); to add some finishing touches to.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • trivia

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • vagina

    noun — The passage leading from the opening of the vulva to the cervix of the uterus for copulation and childbirth in female mammals.

    noun — A similar part in some invertebrates.

    noun — A sheath-like structure, such as the leaf of a grass that surrounds a stem.

    noun — The vulva.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • vagrant

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • vain

    adjective — Overly proud of oneself, especially concerning appearance; having a high opinion of one's own accomplishments with slight reason.

    adjective — Having no real substance, value, or importance; empty; void; worthless; unsatisfying.

    adjective — Effecting no purpose; pointless, futile.

    adjective — Showy; ostentatious.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • variant

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • virgin

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • vitiating

    verb — To spoil, make faulty; to reduce the value, quality, or effectiveness of something

    verb — To debase or morally corrupt

    verb — To violate, to rape

    verb — To make something ineffective, to invalidate

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

Hints, no spoilers

Words by first two letters

  • ag×1
  • ar×1
  • av×3
  • gi×1
  • gr×1
  • in×2
  • na×1
  • ni×1
  • ra×2
  • ti×1
  • tr×1
  • va×4
  • vi×2

Words by first letter and length

4567891011Σ
a ·11·2··1 5
g ··1····1 2
i ····11·· 2
n ···1··1· 2
r ··1·1··· 2
t ··1···1· 2
v 1·22·1·· 6
Σ 11634222 21

The numbers

Genius today takes 118 points of 169 available. The average answer runs 7.5 letters.

Total points vs. all 385 recorded puzzles
32nd percentile
Word count vs. all recorded puzzles
2nd percentile

Word lengths, today vs. 17461 recorded answers

41 today34.6% all-time51 today22.8% all-time66 today19.9% all-time73 today12.1% all-time84 today6.3% all-time92 today2.6% all-time102 today1.2% all-time112 today0.3% all-time120.1% all-time130.0% all-time

History

Today's letters, last seen

LetterLast in a puzzleLast as center
a Monday, September 15, 2025 Monday, September 8, 2025
g Thursday, September 11, 2025 Wednesday, September 3, 2025
i Wednesday, September 17, 2025 Friday, September 12, 2025
n Wednesday, September 17, 2025 Wednesday, September 17, 2025
r Wednesday, September 10, 2025 Wednesday, September 10, 2025
t Wednesday, September 17, 2025 Monday, August 25, 2025
v ● Saturday, September 6, 2025 Saturday, September 6, 2025

Most common answers, all recorded puzzles

  1. noon 42
  2. naan 30
  3. nana 30
  4. onion 29
  5. toot 28
  6. loll 28
  7. mama 25
  8. mamma 25
  9. cocoon 23
  10. acacia 23
  11. acai 23
  12. loon 23
  13. nene 23
  14. bill 22
  15. neon 22
  16. none 22
  17. olio 22
  18. aria 21
  19. onto 21
  20. toon 21
  21. cancan 21
  22. canna 21
  23. lull 20
  24. lulu 20
  25. lilt 20

Valid words the Bee rejected

Dictionary words the Bee never takes

Legitimate words (per the ENABLE list) that fit the letters but aren't official answers — usually judged too obscure.