Words With AN in the Middle
100 wordsWords with AN in the middle form one of English's most productive patterns, spanning everything from simple two-letter words to tongue-twisting technical terms. This collection showcases the remarkable range of vocabulary built around this common letter combination.
4-letter words
135-letter words
236-letter words
157-letter words
178-letter words
149-letter words
1110-letter words
311-letter words
313-letter words
1Pattern Guide
Insights and recommendations for these words.
The AN pattern appears across nearly every corner of the English language, making it essential territory for word game players to master.
Vocabulary & Language
Linguistic patterns and usage statistics
The AN combination frequently appears in words derived from Greek and Latin roots, particularly in scientific terminology where it forms agent nouns (like 'artisan' or 'partisan') and adjectives describing materials or qualities. Many AN words come from the Latin suffix '-anus' meaning 'pertaining to,' which English absorbed wholesale. This explains why so many profession names and descriptive terms contain this pattern.
Total Words
9,958
3.3% of dictionary
Avg Length
9.6 letters
3.5 syllables
Top Scrabble
ANTHROPOMORPHIZATION
41 points
Longest Word
ANTHROPOMORPHIZATION
20 letters
Parts of Speech
This pattern shows a strong noun bias at 71%, with adjectives making up 21% of the collection. The average length of 9.6 letters reflects the prevalence of technical and compound terms that incorporate AN as a connecting element.
Middle English dominates this pattern's origins, reflecting how thoroughly AN-containing words became naturalized in everyday English vocabulary. Latin and French contributions created a rich layer of formal and technical vocabulary, while the Greek influence appears prominently in scientific terminology. The etymology chain of ADAMANTINE—traveling from Ancient Greek through Latin to Middle English—illustrates how scholarly words preserved their AN structure across centuries of linguistic borrowing.
Word Games
High-value words for board games
Medium (5-7)
a musician who plays or composes jazz music
a gold coin of the Byzantine Empire; widely circulated in Europe in the Middle Ages
Long (8+)
ascribe human features to something
Medium (5-7)
a musician who plays or composes jazz music
a gold coin of the Byzantine Empire; widely circulated in Europe in the Middle Ages
Long (8+)
JAZZMAN demonstrates the scoring gap between games: it earns 34 points in Scrabble but climbs to 38 in Words With Friends thanks to the higher J value. BEZZANT offers similar appeal, scoring 27 in Scrabble versus 29 in WWF. For maximum impact, the ANTHROPOMORPHIZE family dominates both games, with ANTHROPOMORPHIZATION reaching 41 points in Scrabble and 44 in WWF. Keep ZANY in your back pocket for tight board situations—it delivers solid points in either game with just four tiles.
Wordle
5-letter words for daily puzzles
Good Starters (E, A, R, S, T)
STAND and MEANS make excellent openers, each testing two vowels alongside high-frequency consonants S, T, N, and D. MEANT offers a slight variation if you want to probe the M position early.
Length Extremes
Longest and shortest valid words
The pattern supports everything from the two-letter AN to twenty-letter technical monstrosities. Short words preserve ancient Germanic roots, while longer entries tend to be Greek or Latin compounds that accumulated prefixes and suffixes over centuries of scientific naming.
Hidden Gems
Rare but valid words to surprise opponents
a physicist who specializes in acoustics
steadfast in devotion (especially to your lawful monarch or government)
"it is impossible to be allegiant to two opposing forces"
egg-thickened veloute
someone skilled in the transcription of speech (especially dictation)
AMANUENSIS describes someone skilled in transcription, particularly dictation—essentially a professional scribe. This elegant Latin-derived word scores well in word games while also being genuinely useful for describing anyone who captures spoken words in writing, from court reporters to executive assistants.
Popular crossword answers
Words frequently used in crossword puzzles with common clues.
More "AN" Pages
Browse words by longer letter combinations starting with "AN".