Pattern size
84 verified matches
ACERB keeps ER together and surrounds it with A, C, and B. Those 3 outside letters make the word useful for comparing where the pair can sit and what can accompany it.
84 real matches in Wurdella
5-Letter Words Containing ER
ER appears as an unbroken pair in 84 playable 5-letter words. It begins in position 1, position 2, position 3, and position 4, so the pair is known but its location is not; the alphabetical range is ACERB through XERUS.
Repeated letters
32 answers repeat a letter
BERRY, CERIC, CHEER, and DEFER are among the repeated-letter choices. For a cleaner letter test, compare them with ACERB, AFTER, and AIVER.
Reading order
The list runs from ACERB to XERUS
ACERB, AFTER, AIVER, ALERT, and ANKER open the list; XERUS is the final entry alphabetically.
All 84 matches from ACERB to XERUS
84 matches call for filters, not a top-to-bottom guessing queue. Start with excluded letters, use ACERB as a comparison point and let the position and vowel summaries cut the field down.
- ACERB
- AFTER
- AIVER
- ALERT
- ANKER
- APERY
- AVERT
- BAKER
- BERRY
- CABER
- CAPER
- CERIC
- CHEER
- CHERT
- CIDER
- CLERK
- COVER
- COWER
- DEFER
- DETER
- DINER
- EAGER
- EERIE
- ELVER
- EMBER
- EMMER
- ENTER
- ERGOT
- ERUPT
- EVERY
- FERAL
- FERRY
- FEVER
- HALER
- HOVER
- INFER
- INNER
- JOKER
- LASER
- LATER
- LAYER
- LEERY
- LOVER
- LOWER
- MAZER
- MERIT
- MERRY
- MERSE
- NEPER
- NERVE
- NEVER
- OFFER
- OPERA
- ORDER
- OTHER
- OVERT
- OWNER
- PAPER
- PATER
- PERCH
- PERIL
- POWER
- QUERN
- RIVER
- RULER
- SERAC
- SERAL
- SERIF
- SEROW
- SERVE
- SUPER
- TERNE
- THERE
- TIGER
- UNDER
- UTTER
- VERSO
- VERVE
- VOMER
- WAGER
- WATER
- WERSH
- WHERE
- XERUS
What separates these 84 candidates
A, E, and T appear across the open parts of the list more often than the other movable letters. ACERB exposes 3 distinct letters outside the fixed clue: A, C, and B.
Leaders in open positions
- first: C in 9 words
- second: E in 27 words
- third: R in 21 words
- fourth: E in 48 words
- fifth: R in 48 words
Movable letters seen most often
- A appears outside the fixed clue in 24 candidates
- E appears outside the fixed clue in 21 candidates
- T appears outside the fixed clue in 18 candidates
- O appears outside the fixed clue in 17 candidates
- V appears outside the fixed clue in 16 candidates
Vowel count across the matches
73 of the 84 matches use 2 vowels. ACERB is one concrete example of that shape.
1 vowel: 72 vowels: 733 vowels: 34 vowels: 1
ER travels as one pair
Move ER as a pair, not as two loose tiles
ER begins in the first, second, third, and fourth position across this list. Check which placements your yellow and green tiles still allow, then compare the outside letters. ACERB adds A, C, and B around the pair, giving you a concrete arrangement to test against the board.
ACERB proves that ER can appear together in a playable answer. Your own tiles still decide whether that placement and the surrounding A, C, and B remain possible.
Browse solving strategies →Meanings found in this 84-word result set
Every match on this page has a glossary note. The entries for ACERB, AFTER, and AIVER show the exact sense Wurdella uses, which is worth checking before an unfamiliar spelling costs a turn.
- ACERB
- Sour or bitter in taste; also harsh, sharp, or severe in manner or expression.
- AFTER
- At a time later than another event or moment.
- AIVER
- A workhorse or old horse, especially in Scottish usage.
- ALERT
- Awake, watchful, and ready to notice or respond to something.
- ANKER
- A former liquid measure and a small cask or barrel used historically in northern Europe.
- APERY
- Imitative behavior or a display of mimicry.
- AVERT
- To prevent or turn away an unwanted event.
- BAKER
- A person whose job is making and baking bread, cakes, and other baked goods.
- BERRY
- A small fleshy fruit, often containing several seeds.
- CABER
- A heavy tapered pole thrown in the Scottish sport of tossing the caber.
- CAPER
- A playful leap or an adventurous illegal scheme.
- CERIC
- Relating to cerium in the +4 oxidation state, as in ceric compounds.
- CHEER
- A shout of encouragement or approval, or a feeling of happiness and optimism.
- CHERT
- A hard fine-grained sedimentary rock composed mainly of silica.
- CIDER
- A drink made from the juice of pressed apples.
- CLERK
- A person who handles records or customer service.
- COVER
- To place something over another thing to protect, hide, or enclose it.
- COWER
- To crouch or shrink away in fear.
Move the ER pair only where the board allows
From 5-Letter Words Containing ER, the nearest alternative is 5-Letter Words Containing AL, currently with 72 matches. Use the links below only when new board feedback changes the constraint you actually know.
Check the full arrangement in ACERB
Find the ER pair in ACERB, check whether your board permits it in that location, and then test the outside letters A, C, and B. Do not split the pair to rescue a spelling that belongs on another page.