NYT Spelling Bee Answers for May 20, 2025
Game Summary
| Center Letter | Y |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | a, i, l, n, o, t |
| # of Pangrams | 6 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 45 words |
| Total Points | 289 points |
| Genius Level | 202 points |
| Bingo? | No |
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 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | Σ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 1 | 3 | 1 | - | 1 | 1 | - | - | 7 |
| I | 2 | 1 | - | 1 | - | 1 | - | - | 5 |
| L | 1 | 4 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | 8 |
| N | - | 4 | - | 1 | 1 | - | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| O | 3 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 5 |
| T | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | 10 |
| Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Σ | 9 | 16 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 45 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| A | AL×3 AN×2 AT×2 |
|---|---|
| I | IL×1 IN×3 IT×1 |
| L | LA×1 LI×3 LO×4 |
| N | NA×6 NI×1 NO×2 NY×1 |
| O | OA×1 OI×1 ON×3 |
| T | TA×2 TI×3 TO×5 |
| Y |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| A | ALL×3 ANA×1 ANN×1 ATO×2 |
|---|---|
| I | ILL×1 INA×1 INI×1 INL×1 ITT×1 |
| L | LAI×1 LIL×1 LIN×1 LIT×1 LOO×1 LOY×3 |
| N | NAN×1 NAT×5 NIN×1 NOT×2 NYL×1 |
| O | OAT×1 OIL×1 ONI×1 ONL×2 |
| T | TAL×1 TAT×1 TIN×3 TON×3 TOT×2 |
| Y |
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) |
|---|---|---|
| at....... † | AT9 | A style of music that is written without a key. |
| na......... † | NA11 | National, i.e. ethnic and/or cultural, character or identity. |
| na........ † | NA10 | In a way relating to the whole nation. |
| no......... † | NO11 | The state or property of being notional. |
| no........ † | NO10 | In a notional, imaginary or speculative sense; in theory. |
| to...... † | TO8 | The system of seven tones built on a tonic key; the 24 major and minor scales. |
| al... | AL5 | To make quiet or put at rest; to pacify or appease; to quell; to calm. |
| al... | AL5 | A metal that is a combination of two or more elements, at least one of which is a metal. |
| al.. | AL4 | To unite or form a connection between (people or things), as between families by marriage, or between states by confederacy, league, or treaty. |
| an.... | AN6 | Involving the anus. |
| an... | AN5 | To disturb or irritate, especially by continued or repeated acts; to bother with unpleasant deeds. |
| at...... | AT8 | In an atonal manner; without tone. |
| il.. | IL4 | Badly; poorly. |
| in..... | IN7 | The property of lacking sense or meaning (often to the point of boredom or annoyance). |
| in....... | IN9 | At the beginning. |
| in... | IN5 | To place (pieces of a foreign material) within another material to form a decorative design. |
| it.. | IT4 | Extremely small. |
| la... | LA5 | People of a church who are not ordained clergy or clerics. |
| li.. | LI4 | Any of several flowers in the genus Lilium of the family Liliaceae, which includes a great many ornamental species. |
| li... | LI5 | Covered with lint. |
| li.... | LI6 | A ritual liturgical prayer in which a series of prayers recited by a leader are alternated with responses from the congregation. |
| lo... | LO5 | Insane. |
| lo... | LO5 | Having or demonstrating undivided and constant support for someone or something. |
| lo..... | LO7 | In a loyal manner, faithfully. |
| lo..... | LO7 | The state of being loyal; fidelity. |
| na... | NA5 | A child's nurse. |
| na...... | NA8 | The ratio of live births in an area to the population of that area; expressed per 1000 population per year. |
| na..... | NA7 | In a natty manner. |
| na... | NA5 | Smart and fashionable. |
| ni... | NI5 | A silly or foolish person. |
| ny... | NY5 | Originally, the DuPont company trade name for polyamide, a copolymer whose molecules consist of alternating diamine and dicarboxylic acid monomers bonded together; now generically used for this type of polymer. |
| oa.. | OA4 | Containing oats. |
| oi.. | OI4 | Relating to or resembling oil. |
| on.... | ON6 | Resembling an onion or onions, especially in terms of smell. |
| on... | ON5 | To lay or place something on a surface. |
| on.. | ON4 | Alone in a category. |
| ta... | TA5 | Target sighted. |
| ta... | TA5 | worn and shabby; in poor condition. |
| ti.... | TI6 | In a tiny way. |
| ti... | TI5 | having a displeasingly thin, metallic sound. |
| ti.. | TI4 | Very small. |
| to..... | TO7 | In a tonal manner. |
| to.. | TO4 | Stylish, high-toned, upscale. |
| to...... | TO8 | The state of being total. |
| to..... | TO7 | To the fullest extent or degree. |
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.
- atonality† (AT9)
- nationality† (NA11)
- nationally† (NA10)
- notionality† (NO11)
- notionally† (NO10)
- tonality† (TO8)
- allay (AL5)
- alloy (AL5)
- ally (AL4)
- anally (AN6)
- annoy (AN5)
- atonally (AT8)
- illy (IL4)
- inanity (IN7)
- initially (IN9)
- inlay (IN5)
- itty (IT4)
- laity (LA5)
- lily (LI4)
- linty (LI5)
- litany (LI6)
- loony (LO5)
- loyal (LO5)
- loyally (LO7)
- loyalty (LO7)
- nanny (NA5)
- natality (NA8)
- nattily (NA7)
- natty (NA5)
- ninny (NI5)
- nylon (NY5)
- oaty (OA4)
- oily (OI4)
- oniony (ON6)
- onlay (ON5)
- only (ON4)
- tally (TA5)
- tatty (TA5)
- tinily (TI6)
- tinny (TI5)
- tiny (TI4)
- tonally (TO7)
- tony (TO4)
- totality (TO8)
- totally (TO7)
Answer Definitions
- atonality† (noun): A style of music that is written without a key.
- nationality† (noun): National, i.e. ethnic and/or cultural, character or identity.
- nationally† (adverb): In a way relating to the whole nation.
- notionality† (noun): The state or property of being notional.
- notionally† (adverb): In a notional, imaginary or speculative sense; in theory.
- tonality† (noun): The system of seven tones built on a tonic key; the 24 major and minor scales.
- allay (verb): To make quiet or put at rest; to pacify or appease; to quell; to calm.
- alloy (noun): A metal that is a combination of two or more elements, at least one of which is a metal.
- ally (verb): To unite or form a connection between (people or things), as between families by marriage, or between states by confederacy, league, or treaty.
- anally (adverb): Involving the anus.
- annoy (verb): To disturb or irritate, especially by continued or repeated acts; to bother with unpleasant deeds.
- atonally (adverb): In an atonal manner; without tone.
- illy (adverb): Badly; poorly.
- inanity (noun): The property of lacking sense or meaning (often to the point of boredom or annoyance).
- initially (adverb): At the beginning.
- inlay (verb): To place (pieces of a foreign material) within another material to form a decorative design.
- itty (adjective): Extremely small.
- laity (noun): People of a church who are not ordained clergy or clerics.
- lily (noun): Any of several flowers in the genus Lilium of the family Liliaceae, which includes a great many ornamental species.
- linty (adjective): Covered with lint.
- litany (noun): A ritual liturgical prayer in which a series of prayers recited by a leader are alternated with responses from the congregation.
- loony (adjective): Insane.
- loyal (adjective): Having or demonstrating undivided and constant support for someone or something.
- loyally (adverb): In a loyal manner, faithfully.
- loyalty (noun): The state of being loyal; fidelity.
- nanny (noun): A child's nurse.
- natality (noun): The ratio of live births in an area to the population of that area; expressed per 1000 population per year.
- nattily (adverb): In a natty manner.
- natty (adjective): Smart and fashionable.
- ninny (noun): A silly or foolish person.
- nylon (noun): Originally, the DuPont company trade name for polyamide, a copolymer whose molecules consist of alternating diamine and dicarboxylic acid monomers bonded together; now generically used for this type of polymer.
- oaty (adjective): Containing oats.
- oily (adjective): Relating to or resembling oil.
- oniony (adjective): Resembling an onion or onions, especially in terms of smell.
- onlay (verb): To lay or place something on a surface.
- only (adjective): Alone in a category.
- tally (interjection): Target sighted.
- tatty (noun): worn and shabby; in poor condition.
- tinily (adverb): In a tiny way.
- tinny (adjective): having a displeasingly thin, metallic sound.
- tiny (adjective): Very small.
- tonally (adverb): In a tonal manner.
- tony (adjective): Stylish, high-toned, upscale.
- totality (noun): The state of being total.
- totally (adverb): To the fullest extent or degree.