December 16, 2021

NYT Spelling Bee Answers — December 16, 2021

Margaret Chen Verified

Senior Editor · Spelling Bee solver since 2018

Below you will find every answer to the New York Times Spelling Bee for December 16, 2021 (Thursday). The honeycomb shows the seven letters; the pangram is highlighted in yellow.

Words68
Max Points453
Pangrams8
Genius317

4 letter answers 11 words

ACAIACNECAGECALLCANECELLCLANLACELAICLICENICE

5 letter answers 15 words

ACINGCALLACANALCANNACELLICILIACLANGCLEANCLINGGLACEICINGILIACLANCELILACNIECE

6 letter answers 15 words

ACACIACAGINGCANCANCANCELCANINECANINGCELIACCLINICENCAGEENLACEGLANCEICICLELACINGLAICALNIACIN

7 letter answers 8 words

ANGELICCALLINGCANNINGCEILINGELEGIACGLACIALINCLINELANCING

8 letter answers 11 words

ALLIANCEANGELICACLANGINGCLEANINGCLINGINGCLINICALELEGANCEENCAGINGENLACINGGLANCINGLENIENCE

9 letter answers 3 words

CANCELINGCLINICIANINCLINING

10 letter answers 5 words

ALLEGIANCECANCELLINGCANNELLINIINELEGANCENEGLIGENCE

Common questions

How many answers in the December 16, 2021 Spelling Bee?

68 valid answers worth 453 points, including 8 pangrams. Genius requires 317 points.

What is the pangram?

The pangrams are ALLEGIANCE, ANGELIC, ANGELICA, CANCELING, CANCELLING, CLEANING, ENLACING, INELEGANCE. Pangrams use all seven letters and earn 7 bonus points.

What is the center letter?

The required center letter is C. Every valid answer must contain this letter.

How does scoring work?

4-letter words: 1 point. Longer words: 1 point per letter. Pangrams: +7 bonus. Genius is 70% of the maximum.