NYT Spelling Bee Answers for December 12, 2023
Game Summary
| Center Letter | N |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | a, b, e, i, l, v |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 59 words |
| Total Points | 261 points |
| Genius Level | 183 points |
| Bingo? | Yes |
Table of Contents
As you scroll down this page, the clues get progressively more revealing. So scroll slowly!
- Spelling Bee Grid
- Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
- Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
- Extra Letter Hints (Incrementally Revealing) 🤯
- Today's Complete Solution
- Answer Definitions
If you're just here for a list of NYT Spelling Bee answers, Jump down to the answers ↓ (Spoiler Alert!).
Spelling Bee Grid
The following table shows the standard Spelling Bee summary grid, which lists word lengths across the top and letters down the left-hand side. The cell where the word lengths and letters intersect displays the number of words in today's puzzle with the corresponding first letter and word length.
| 4</th><th>5</th><th>6</th><th>7</th><th>8</th><th>9</th><th>10</th><th>11 | Σ | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 1 | 4 | 1 | - | - | 1 | - | - | 7 |
| B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | 13 |
| E | 2 | - | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | 6 |
| I | - | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | 3 |
| L | 5 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | 10 |
| N | 6 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 10 |
| V | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | - | 1 | - | 10 | Σ | 22 | 15 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 59 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| A | AL×2 AN×4 AV×1 |
|---|---|
| B | BA×4 BE×5 BI×2 BL×2 |
| E | EL×2 EN×3 EV×1 |
| I | IN×3 |
| L | LA×3 LE×2 LI×5 |
| N | NA×7 NE×1 NI×2 |
| V | VA×4 VE×3 VI×3 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| A | ALI×2 ANA×1 ANN×2 ANV×1 AVI×1 |
|---|---|
| B | BAL×1 BAN×3 BEA×3 BEE×2 BIE×2 BLI×2 |
| E | ELA×1 ELE×1 ENA×1 ENL×1 ENV×1 EVE×1 |
| I | INA×2 INN×1 |
| L | LAI×1 LAN×2 LEA×2 LIE×1 LIN×3 LIV×1 |
| N | NAA×1 NAI×2 NAN×1 NAV×3 NEN×1 NIB×1 NIN×1 |
| V | VAI×1 VAN×3 VEI×1 VEN×2 VIL×2 VIN×1 |
Extra Letter Hints (Incrementally Revealing)
The table below lists all of the solutions to today's puzzle, but they're concealed. You can click the plus button (+) to reveal additional letters, one-by-one.
Concealed definitions are provided as additional clues. You can toggle concealment of the definitions by clicking on the concealer bar or the text that appears when the definition is visible.
Pangrams are marked with a dagger symbol (†).
| Word | 2L Ref | Definition (click to reveal) |
|---|---|---|
| en...... † | EN8 | Arousing or likely to arouse envy. |
| al... | AL5 | Any life form of extraterrestrial or extradimensional origin. |
| al....... | AL9 | Capable of being alienated, sold, or transferred to another |
| an.. | AN4 | of, related to, intended for or involving the anus. |
| an... | AN5 | The record of a single event or item. |
| an.... | AN6 | To subject to great heat and then (often slow) cooling, and sometimes reheating and further cooling, for the purpose of rendering less brittle; to temper; to toughen. |
| an... | AN5 | A heavy iron block used in the blacksmithing trade as a surface upon which metal can be struck and shaped. |
| av... | AV5 | Characteristic of or pertaining to birds, or to bird-like or flying creatures. |
| ba.... | BA6 | The bony material that makes up the plates in the mouth of the baleen whale, Mysticeti, which it uses to trap its food; formerly used in corsetry. |
| ba... | BA5 | Common in a boring way, to the point of being predictable; containing nothing new or fresh. |
| ba.... | BA6 | An elongated curved tropical fruit of a banana plant, which grows in bunches and has a creamy flesh and a smooth skin. In particular, the sweet, yellow fruit of the Cavendish banana cultivar, which may be eaten raw, as distinct from e.g. a plantain for cooking. |
| ba.. | BA4 | A cause of misery or death. |
| be.. | BE4 | Any plant of several genera of the taxonomic family Fabaceae that produces large edible seeds or edible seedpods. |
| be...... | BE8 | A pitch deliberately thrown at the head of the batter. |
| be.... | BE6 | A cap that fits the head closely, usually knitted from wool. |
| be..... | BE7 | A very direct or quick path or trip. |
| be.. | BE4 | past participle of be. |
| bi..... | BI7 | plural of biennium |
| bi...... | BI8 | Happening every two years. |
| bl.. | BL4 | To cease (from); to stop; to desist, to let up. |
| bl... | BL5 | A small pancake, of Russian origin, made from buckwheat flour; traditionally served with melted butter, sour cream and caviar or smoked salmon. |
| el.. | EL4 | Uncommon spelling of élan. |
| el.... | EL6 | The cardinal number occurring after ten and before twelve. Represented as 11 in Arabic digits. |
| en.... | EN6 | To make somebody able (to do, or to be, something); to give sufficient ability or power to do or to be; to give strength or ability to. |
| en..... | EN7 | To give life or spirit to; to revive or animate. |
| ev.. | EV4 | Flat and level. |
| in......... | IN11 | Incapable of being alienated, surrendered, or transferred to another; not alienable. |
| in... | IN5 | Lacking sense or meaning (often to the point of boredom or annoyance) |
| in... | IN5 | A navel that is formed of a hollow in the abdomen (as opposed to one that protrudes from the abdomen). |
| la.. | LA4 | past participle of lie (“to be oriented in a horizontal position, situated”) |
| la... | LA5 | A Hawaiian-style roofed patio. |
| la.. | LA4 | A road, street, or similar thoroughfare. |
| le.. | LE4 | To incline, deviate, or bend, from a vertical position; to be in a position thus inclining or deviating. |
| le.... | LE6 | Any agent used to make dough rise or to have a similar effect on baked goods. |
| li.. | LI4 | A tendon. |
| li.. | LI4 | A path through two or more points (compare ‘segment’); a continuous mark, including as made by a pen; any path, curved or straight. |
| li.... | LI6 | Having an ancestral relationship to mothers, fathers, grandparents, (etc.) and having a descendant relationship to sons, daughters, grandchildren (etc.), exclusive of collateral siblings. |
| li... | LI5 | Thread or cloth made from flax fiber. |
| li... | LI5 | To cause to be more lively, or to become more lively. |
| na.. | NA4 | A type of round, flat bread baked in a tandoor popular in South and Central Asian cuisine. |
| na.. | NA4 | The thin, horny plate at the ends of fingers and toes on humans and some other animals. |
| na... | NA5 | Lacking worldly experience, wisdom, or judgement; unsophisticated. |
| na.. | NA4 | A banana. |
| na... | NA5 | Of or relating to a navy. |
| na.. | NA4 | The middle or body of a church, extending from the transepts to the principal entrances. |
| na... | NA5 | The indentation or bump remaining in the abdomen of mammals where the umbilical cord was attached before birth. |
| ne.. | NE4 | The Hawaiian goose, Branta sandvicensis, which was designated the state bird of Hawaii in 1957. |
| ni.... | NI6 | A small, quick bite taken with the front teeth. |
| ni.. | NI4 | NATO & ICAO phonetic alphabet code for the numeral 9. |
| va.. | VA4 | Overly proud of oneself, especially concerning appearance; having a high opinion of one's own accomplishments with slight reason. |
| va.. | VA4 | A weather vane. |
| va..... | VA7 | Any tropical, climbing orchid of the genus Vanilla (especially Vanilla planifolia), bearing podlike fruit yielding an extract used in flavoring food or in perfumes. |
| va...... | VA8 | A chemical compound, 4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzaldehyde, that is the primary constituent of vanilla. |
| ve.. | VE4 | A blood vessel that transports blood from the capillaries back to the heart. |
| ve... | VE5 | Venous; pertaining to veins. |
| ve.... | VE6 | Able to be forgiven; worthy of forgiveness. |
| vi..... | VI7 | (Can we clean up this sense?) A vile, wicked person. An extremely depraved person, or one capable or guilty of great crimes. A deliberate scoundrel. |
| vi........ | VI10 | A type of poem, consisting of five tercets and one quatrain, with only two rhymes. |
| vi.. | VI4 | The climbing plant that produces grapes. |
Today's Complete Solution
The words that follow are a complete listing of all acceptable words in today's New York Time Spelling Bee puzzle.
Next to the answer word you'll see the two-letter reference (2L Ref) in parentheses. We added that 2L Ref for easier translation of the spoiler-avoidant language you see on the Spelling Bee Forum and Twitter. The 2L Ref signifies a word's two start letters followed by the total number of letters in the word.
- enviable† (EN8)
- alien (AL5)
- alienable (AL9)
- anal (AN4)
- annal (AN5)
- anneal (AN6)
- anvil (AN5)
- avian (AV5)
- baleen (BA6)
- banal (BA5)
- banana (BA6)
- bane (BA4)
- bean (BE4)
- beanball (BE8)
- beanie (BE6)
- beeline (BE7)
- been (BE4)
- biennia (BI7)
- biennial (BI8)
- blin (BL4)
- blini (BL5)
- elan (EL4)
- eleven (EL6)
- enable (EN6)
- enliven (EN7)
- even (EV4)
- inalienable (IN11)
- inane (IN5)
- innie (IN5)
- lain (LA4)
- lanai (LA5)
- lane (LA4)
- lean (LE4)
- leaven (LE6)
- lien (LI4)
- line (LI4)
- lineal (LI6)
- linen (LI5)
- liven (LI5)
- naan (NA4)
- nail (NA4)
- naive (NA5)
- nana (NA4)
- naval (NA5)
- nave (NA4)
- navel (NA5)
- nene (NE4)
- nibble (NI6)
- nine (NI4)
- vain (VA4)
- vane (VA4)
- vanilla (VA7)
- vanillin (VA8)
- vein (VE4)
- venal (VE5)
- venial (VE6)
- villain (VI7)
- villanelle (VI10)
- vine (VI4)
Answer Definitions
- enviable† (adjective): Arousing or likely to arouse envy.
- alien (noun): Any life form of extraterrestrial or extradimensional origin.
- alienable (adjective): Capable of being alienated, sold, or transferred to another
- anal (adjective): of, related to, intended for or involving the anus.
- annal (noun): The record of a single event or item.
- anneal (verb): To subject to great heat and then (often slow) cooling, and sometimes reheating and further cooling, for the purpose of rendering less brittle; to temper; to toughen.
- anvil (noun): A heavy iron block used in the blacksmithing trade as a surface upon which metal can be struck and shaped.
- avian (adjective): Characteristic of or pertaining to birds, or to bird-like or flying creatures.
- baleen (noun): The bony material that makes up the plates in the mouth of the baleen whale, Mysticeti, which it uses to trap its food; formerly used in corsetry.
- banal (adjective): Common in a boring way, to the point of being predictable; containing nothing new or fresh.
- banana (noun): An elongated curved tropical fruit of a banana plant, which grows in bunches and has a creamy flesh and a smooth skin. In particular, the sweet, yellow fruit of the Cavendish banana cultivar, which may be eaten raw, as distinct from e.g. a plantain for cooking.
- bane (noun): A cause of misery or death.
- bean (noun): Any plant of several genera of the taxonomic family Fabaceae that produces large edible seeds or edible seedpods.
- beanball (noun): A pitch deliberately thrown at the head of the batter.
- beanie (noun): A cap that fits the head closely, usually knitted from wool.
- beeline (noun): A very direct or quick path or trip.
- been (verb): past participle of be.
- biennia (noun): plural of biennium
- biennial (adjective): Happening every two years.
- blin (verb): To cease (from); to stop; to desist, to let up.
- blini (noun): A small pancake, of Russian origin, made from buckwheat flour; traditionally served with melted butter, sour cream and caviar or smoked salmon.
- elan (noun): Uncommon spelling of élan.
- eleven (numeral): The cardinal number occurring after ten and before twelve. Represented as 11 in Arabic digits.
- enable (verb): To make somebody able (to do, or to be, something); to give sufficient ability or power to do or to be; to give strength or ability to.
- enliven (verb): To give life or spirit to; to revive or animate.
- even (adjective): Flat and level.
- inalienable (adjective): Incapable of being alienated, surrendered, or transferred to another; not alienable.
- inane (adjective): Lacking sense or meaning (often to the point of boredom or annoyance)
- innie (noun): A navel that is formed of a hollow in the abdomen (as opposed to one that protrudes from the abdomen).
- lain (verb): past participle of lie (“to be oriented in a horizontal position, situated”)
- lanai (noun): A Hawaiian-style roofed patio.
- lane (noun): A road, street, or similar thoroughfare.
- lean (verb): To incline, deviate, or bend, from a vertical position; to be in a position thus inclining or deviating.
- leaven (noun): Any agent used to make dough rise or to have a similar effect on baked goods.
- lien (noun): A tendon.
- line (noun): A path through two or more points (compare ‘segment’); a continuous mark, including as made by a pen; any path, curved or straight.
- lineal (adjective): Having an ancestral relationship to mothers, fathers, grandparents, (etc.) and having a descendant relationship to sons, daughters, grandchildren (etc.), exclusive of collateral siblings.
- linen (noun): Thread or cloth made from flax fiber.
- liven (verb): To cause to be more lively, or to become more lively.
- naan (noun): A type of round, flat bread baked in a tandoor popular in South and Central Asian cuisine.
- nail (noun): The thin, horny plate at the ends of fingers and toes on humans and some other animals.
- naive (adjective): Lacking worldly experience, wisdom, or judgement; unsophisticated.
- nana (noun): A banana.
- naval (adjective): Of or relating to a navy.
- nave (noun): The middle or body of a church, extending from the transepts to the principal entrances.
- navel (noun): The indentation or bump remaining in the abdomen of mammals where the umbilical cord was attached before birth.
- nene (noun): The Hawaiian goose, Branta sandvicensis, which was designated the state bird of Hawaii in 1957.
- nibble (noun): A small, quick bite taken with the front teeth.
- nine (numeral): NATO & ICAO phonetic alphabet code for the numeral 9.
- vain (adjective): Overly proud of oneself, especially concerning appearance; having a high opinion of one's own accomplishments with slight reason.
- vane (noun): A weather vane.
- vanilla (noun): Any tropical, climbing orchid of the genus Vanilla (especially Vanilla planifolia), bearing podlike fruit yielding an extract used in flavoring food or in perfumes.
- vanillin (noun): A chemical compound, 4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzaldehyde, that is the primary constituent of vanilla.
- vein (noun): A blood vessel that transports blood from the capillaries back to the heart.
- venal (adjective): Venous; pertaining to veins.
- venial (adjective): Able to be forgiven; worthy of forgiveness.
- villain (noun): (Can we clean up this sense?) A vile, wicked person. An extremely depraved person, or one capable or guilty of great crimes. A deliberate scoundrel.
- villanelle (noun): A type of poem, consisting of five tercets and one quatrain, with only two rhymes.
- vine (noun): The climbing plant that produces grapes.