Words Ending With L
100 wordsWords ending in L form one of English's most versatile collections, spanning quick two-letter plays to scientific terminology that stretches across the board. This suffix creates adjectives from nouns, transforms roots into descriptive forms, and preserves traces of Latin, French, and Old English origins in everyday vocabulary.
2-letter words
13-letter words
44-letter words
395-letter words
216-letter words
77-letter words
138-letter words
109-letter words
312-letter words
113-letter words
1Pattern Guide
Insights and recommendations for these words.
The L ending offers strategic flexibility across word games, with options ranging from compact scoring plays to board-spanning technical terms.
Vocabulary & Language
Linguistic patterns and usage statistics
The -al suffix dominates this pattern, turning nouns into adjectives: emotion becomes emotional, accident becomes accidental. This Latin-derived ending arrived through French and became one of English's most productive word-forming tools. You'll also find -ful words expressing abundance, -el diminutives, and native English terms like owl and fowl that have carried their L endings since Old English.
Total Words
5,869
2.0% of dictionary
Avg Length
9.1 letters
3.4 syllables
Top Scrabble
PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL
40 points
Longest Word
ELECTROPHYSIOLOGICAL
20 letters
Parts of Speech
Adjectives account for 51% of L-ending words, reflecting the suffix's role as English's go-to adjective maker. The average length of 9.1 letters and 3.4 syllables suggests these words often carry substantial root words beneath their endings.
Middle English contributed the largest share of L-ending words, though many of these trace back further to Latin through French intermediaries. The journey of ADMIRAL illustrates this layered history—from Arabic 'amīr al-baḥr' (commander of the sea) through Old French to Middle English, losing the 'd' along the way before English speakers added it back. HYDROMEL shows the Greek pathway, preserving the ancient word for water in a term for honey-water.
Word Games
High-value words for board games
Short (2-4)
Long (8+)
perplexed (as if being expected to know something that you do not know)
a substance in photosensitive bacteria that is related to but different from chlorophyll of higher plants
suffering from an undiagnosed mental disorder
Short (2-4)
Long (8+)
perplexed (as if being expected to know something that you do not know)
a substance in photosensitive bacteria that is related to but different from chlorophyll of higher plants
JOWL demonstrates the scoring gap between games—14 points in Scrabble but 17 in Words With Friends, where J carries extra weight. JEZEBEL scores 25 in Scrabble versus 29 in WWF, making it more valuable when you're holding that J tile in the latter game. For premium square plays, QUIZZICAL delivers 38 points in Scrabble and climbs to 41 in WWF, capitalizing on the boosted Q and Z values.
Wordle
5-letter words for daily puzzles
Good Starters (E, A, R, S, T)
STEAL offers strong vowel coverage with E and A plus common consonants S, T, and L. TRIAL provides an alternative that tests the R, while METAL and STEEL help eliminate or confirm the frequently-used E and T.
Length Extremes
Longest and shortest valid words
Short L words like AL and EL serve as essential connectors in crossword games, while scientific compounds like ELECTROPHYSIOLOGICAL grow long because they stack multiple Greek and Latin roots before adding the -ical ending.
Hidden Gems
Rare but valid words to surprise opponents
a formal charge of wrongdoing brought against a person; the act of imputing blame or guilt
characterized by emotion
of or relating to alga
marked by utter benignity; resembling or befitting an angel or saint
ACCUSAL means a formal charge of wrongdoing—the act of imputing blame or guilt. While 'accusation' dominates everyday speech, ACCUSAL remains valid in word games and offers a useful alternative when you need a seven-letter play ending in L.
Popular crossword answers
Words frequently used in crossword puzzles with common clues.