NYT Spelling Bee Answers for June 16, 2026
Game Summary
| Center Letter | Y |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | a, e, i, l, n, v |
| # of Pangrams | 2 (Perfect: 1) |
| Total Words | 31 words |
| Total Points | 158 points |
| Genius Level | 111 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 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Σ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 1 | 2 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| E | 2 | - | 2 | - | - | 4 |
| I | 1 | 1 | - | 1 | - | 3 |
| L | 2 | - | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| N | 1 | 2 | - | 1 | - | 4 |
| V | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 9 |
| Y | 1 | - | - | - | - | 1 | Σ | 9 | 7 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 31 |
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×1 |
|---|---|
| E | EE×1 EN×1 EV×2 |
| I | IL×1 IN×2 |
| L | LE×3 LI×3 |
| N | NA×3 NI×1 |
| V | VA×2 VE×3 VI×4 |
| Y | YE×1 |
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 |
|---|---|
| E | EEL×1 ENV×1 EVE×1 EVI×1 |
| I | ILL×1 INA×1 INL×1 |
| L | LEA×1 LEV×2 LIL×1 LIN×1 LIV×1 |
| N | NAI×1 NAN×1 NAV×1 NIN×1 |
| V | VAI×1 VAL×1 VEI×1 VEN×2 VIL×2 VIN×2 |
| Y | YEL×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) |
|---|---|---|
| na..... † | NA7 | In a naive manner. |
| ve...... † | VE8 | In a venial manner. |
| al... | AL5 | To make quiet or put at rest; to pacify or appease; to quell; to calm. |
| al... | AL5 | A narrow street or passageway, especially one through the middle of a block giving access to the rear of lots or buildings. |
| 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. |
| ee.. | EE4 | Resembling an eel: long, thin and slippery. |
| en.. | EN4 | Resentful desire of something possessed by another or others (but not limited to material possessions). |
| ev.... | EV6 | So as to form a flat surface. |
| ev.... | EV6 | In an evil manner. |
| il.. | IL4 | Badly; poorly. |
| in..... | IN7 | In an inane manner. |
| in... | IN5 | To place (pieces of a foreign material) within another material to form a decorative design. |
| le.... | LE6 | In a lean way. |
| le..... | LE7 | In a level or even manner. |
| le.. | LE4 | To impose (a tax or fine) to collect monies due, or to confiscate property. |
| li.. | LI4 | Any of several flowers in the genus Lilium of the family Liliaceae, which includes a great many ornamental species. |
| li...... | LI8 | By direct descent. |
| li.... | LI6 | Full of life; energetic. |
| na... | NA5 | A child's nurse. |
| na.. | NA4 | A country's entire sea force, including ships and personnel. |
| ni... | NI5 | A silly or foolish person. |
| va.... | VA6 | In a vain pursuit; to no avail. |
| va.... | VA6 | An elongated depression cast between hills or mountains, often garnished with a river flowing through it. |
| ve... | VE5 | Having prominent veins. |
| ve..... | VE7 | In a venal fashion; mercenarily or in a manner subject to corruption. |
| vi.... | VI6 | In a vile manner, evilly, despicably. |
| vi...... | VI8 | Evil or wicked character or behaviour. |
| vi.. | VI4 | Resembling or characteristic of a vine, especially in being twisty. |
| vi... | VI5 | The univalent radical CH2=CH−, derived from ethylene. |
| ye.. | YE4 | shout; holler; make a loud sound with the voice. |
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.
- naively† (NA7)
- venially† (VE8)
- allay (AL5)
- alley (AL5)
- ally (AL4)
- anally (AN6)
- eely (EE4)
- envy (EN4)
- evenly (EV6)
- evilly (EV6)
- illy (IL4)
- inanely (IN7)
- inlay (IN5)
- leanly (LE6)
- levelly (LE7)
- levy (LE4)
- lily (LI4)
- lineally (LI8)
- lively (LI6)
- nanny (NA5)
- navy (NA4)
- ninny (NI5)
- vainly (VA6)
- valley (VA6)
- veiny (VE5)
- venally (VE7)
- vilely (VI6)
- villainy (VI8)
- viny (VI4)
- vinyl (VI5)
- yell (YE4)
Answer Definitions
- naively† (adverb): In a naive manner.
- venially† (adverb): In a venial manner.
- allay (verb): To make quiet or put at rest; to pacify or appease; to quell; to calm.
- alley (noun): A narrow street or passageway, especially one through the middle of a block giving access to the rear of lots or buildings.
- 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.
- eely (adjective): Resembling an eel: long, thin and slippery.
- envy (noun): Resentful desire of something possessed by another or others (but not limited to material possessions).
- evenly (adverb): So as to form a flat surface.
- evilly (adverb): In an evil manner.
- illy (adverb): Badly; poorly.
- inanely (adverb): In an inane manner.
- inlay (verb): To place (pieces of a foreign material) within another material to form a decorative design.
- leanly (adverb): In a lean way.
- levelly (adverb): In a level or even manner.
- levy (verb): To impose (a tax or fine) to collect monies due, or to confiscate property.
- lily (noun): Any of several flowers in the genus Lilium of the family Liliaceae, which includes a great many ornamental species.
- lineally (adverb): By direct descent.
- lively (adjective): Full of life; energetic.
- nanny (noun): A child's nurse.
- navy (noun): A country's entire sea force, including ships and personnel.
- ninny (noun): A silly or foolish person.
- vainly (adverb): In a vain pursuit; to no avail.
- valley (noun): An elongated depression cast between hills or mountains, often garnished with a river flowing through it.
- veiny (adjective): Having prominent veins.
- venally (adverb): In a venal fashion; mercenarily or in a manner subject to corruption.
- vilely (adverb): In a vile manner, evilly, despicably.
- villainy (noun): Evil or wicked character or behaviour.
- viny (adjective): Resembling or characteristic of a vine, especially in being twisty.
- vinyl (noun): The univalent radical CH2=CH−, derived from ethylene.
- yell (verb): shout; holler; make a loud sound with the voice.