Your Spelling Bee Companion for Friday, May 22, 2026
A field guide for the O A H I L N T hive: how many words to look for, where the big points are hiding, and full answer lists only when you decide you are ready to reveal them.
Today's Board
Verified Answers
55
Disputed Words
34
Pangrams
3
Score for Queen Bee
262
Genius estimate: 184 points
Verified Answers
55
Find every accepted word in today's puzzle
Pangrams
3
Use all seven letters
Disputed Words
34
Real-looking words to treat with caution
Puzzle Snapshot
Solve The Hive Before The Spoilers
This page is currently in hint mode: you get the board, counts, estimated score targets, and strategy prompts without answer words. Reveal specific words only when you are ready to check your solve.
Today's Read
Generous with long-word payoff
The O center letter drives a 55-answer hive built from OAHILNT, and the fastest progress comes from spotting the long O-heavy families before you sweep short cleanup. Start by testing -TION and -ATION shapes plus doubled-O and doubled-L branches, because this board hides its biggest points in extended word families rather than isolated one-offs. If you are playing spoiler-light, use the long-answer scaffolding first and leave the 22 four-letter words for your last pass.
Verified answers
55
Max score
262
Genius
184
3 pangrams
Pangram Hunt
Start by forcing every letter into longer shapes before clearing short entries. Pangrams are the fastest way to move the score.
262 possible points
Point Density
The current candidate pool estimates a Genius target around 184 points. Longer words matter more than raw word count.
55 verified answers
Queen Bee Path
Use the word lists below to scoop up every point you need to reach Queen Bee.
Study mode
Definition Pass
Click unfamiliar words to reveal their definitions and cement them in your memory for next time.
Spoiler-Light Scan
Two-Letter Start Counts
Use these starts as a checklist without revealing full answers.
AN
6
words
NO
5
words
IN
4
words
AL
3
words
LO
3
words
TO
3
words
AT
2
words
HO
2
words
NA
2
words
TA
2
words
AI
1
word
HA
1
word
Score Planning
Word-Length Grid
Longer words carry more score. Clear them before the four-letter cleanup.
4 letters
7
one-point cleanup
5 letters
14
score-building row
6 letters
6
score-building row
7 letters
2
score-building row
8 letters
3
score-building row
9 letters
1
score-building row
10 letters
5
1 pangram
11 letters
1
score-building row
12 letters
1
1 pangram
Progressive Hint
First-Letter Counts
A
12
answers
N
7
answers
L
6
answers
T
6
answers
I
5
answers
H
3
answers
O
1
answer
Pattern Prompts
Work The Board Without Reveals
-tion / -ation ladder
This is the clearest scoring lane on the board: once you see one long -TION build, several more verified answers fall quickly.
Double-O cleanup
Repeated O is everywhere here, so test compact forms with OO before assuming the hive only wants longer literary words.
Double-L branches
LL appears in several accepted answers and helps unlock both short cleanup and longer variants like lanolin or titillation.
Long O-center builds first
The board reaches a high points because the real value lives in seven-letter-plus answers, not the 22 one-point words.
AN / LO / NO / TO starts
These openings account for a big chunk of the verified list, so they are better anchors than random scanning.
Common Prefixes
an
AN opens a productive family on this board.
no
NO opens a productive family on this board.
lo
LO opens a productive family on this board.
to
TO opens a productive family on this board.
Common Suffixes
ion
ION repeats as a useful finishing pattern on this board.
Progressive Help
Pangram Hints
No-spoiler pangram nudge 1
One pangram is a 12-letter noun ending in -TION that uses all seven letters and grows from an annihilate-style skeleton.
No-spoiler pangram nudge 2
The other pangram is a 10-letter noun ending in -TION, but it starts with a breathing-related prefix instead of a destructive one.
Pangram reveal
If you want the full confirms, both pangrams are here.
Reveal words: annihilation, inhalation
Spoiler Control
Notable Words
- annihilationPangram
- inhalationPangram
- titillation11 pts
- annotation10 pts
- initiation10 pts
- intonation10 pts
- notational10 pts
- nonillion9 pts
- national8 pts
- notation8 pts
Why these matter
- annihilation
ANNIHILATION is a pangram, so it uses every letter in the hive and delivers the fastest big-score swing on the board.
- inhalation
INHALATION is a pangram, so it uses every letter in the hive and delivers the fastest big-score swing on the board.
- titillation
TITILLATION shows how valuable the board’s -TION family is once you spot the right stem.
- nonillion
NONILLION is a standout long answer that rewards solvers who trust repeated N and repeated O instead of avoiding duplicates.
- annotation
ANNOTATION shows how valuable the board’s -TION family is once you spot the right stem.
- intonation
INTONATION shows how valuable the board’s -TION family is once you spot the right stem.
- initiation
INITIATION shows how valuable the board’s -TION family is once you spot the right stem.
- notational
NOTATIONAL is a useful verified answer that reinforces one of today’s major scoring patterns.
Hard Finds
Tricky Accepted Words
- annihilation
ANNIHILATION is a long pangram, so finding it early clears the whole letter set and unlocks one of the board's biggest score jumps.
- inhalation
INHALATION is the other pangram, and it is easy to miss unless you deliberately test the board's long -ATION family.
- annatto
ANNATTO is a useful seven-letter bridge into the puzzle’s heavy AN- and double-T patterns.
- lanolin
LANOLIN is a clean long answer that confirms the board rewards repeated L and repeated N constructions.
- llano
LLANO is easy to overlook because it starts with a doubled consonant and feels less common than the rest of the board.
- olio
OLIO is short, valid, and easy to skip because it looks like filler rather than a real scoring stop.
- tattoo
TATTOO matters because it confirms repeated T and repeated O without needing any obscure extra letter.
- titillation
TITILLATION is a major score jump and an example of how aggressively this puzzle rewards extended -TION families.
Disputed Candidates
Plausible Rejections
- aloin
ALOIN fits the letters and BuzzyWords can generate it, but the verified source list for 2026-05-22 does not include it.
- anatto
ANATTO fits the letters and BuzzyWords can generate it, but the verified source list for 2026-05-22 does not include it.
- anoa
ANOA fits the letters and BuzzyWords can generate it, but the verified source list for 2026-05-22 does not include it.
- antlion
ANTLION fits the letters and BuzzyWords can generate it, but the verified source list for 2026-05-22 does not include it.
- halation
HALATION fits the letters and BuzzyWords can generate it, but the verified source list for 2026-05-22 does not include it.
- halloo
HALLOO fits the letters and BuzzyWords can generate it, but the verified source list for 2026-05-22 does not include it.
- halon
HALON fits the letters and BuzzyWords can generate it, but the verified source list for 2026-05-22 does not include it.
- honan
HONAN fits the letters and BuzzyWords can generate it, but the verified source list for 2026-05-22 does not include it.
Answer Vault
All The Words You Need And A Few You Don't.
Trusted words are your safest answer list. Disputed words are real-looking candidates that may not count in the curated puzzle, but they can still be useful for review.