How many words start with IL?

This page lists 157 words starting with IL, each shown with its Scrabble score.

Are these words valid in official Scrabble play?

Not necessarily. This site uses the open ENABLE word list; check the official dictionary used by your game or tournament.

Words Starting With IL

All 157 words in our dictionary that begin with IL, sorted by Scrabble score. Use them to open a word on the board or fill a crossword clue.

157 words · number = Scrabble score · sorted highest score first

illegalizations25 illegalization24 illiquidity24 illegalizing23 illiquidities23 illegalized22 illegalizes21 illimitability21 illegalize20 illegitimacy20 illegitimately20 illuminatingly20 illustratively20 illegitimacies19 illimitableness19 illegibility18 illimitably18 illiquid18 illocutionary18 illogicality18 illogicalnesses18 illegibilities17 illiberalisms17 illiberality17 illiberalnesses17 illogicalities17 illogically17 illuminative17 illusivenesses17 illatively16 illaudably16 illiberalism16 illiberalities16 illiberally16 illogicalness16 illuminances16 illusively16 illustriously16 illegibly15 illegitimate15 illiberalness15 illimitable15 illiteracy15 illiterately15 illuminable15 illuminance15 illuminating15 illuminations15 illuminisms15 illusionistic15 illusiveness15 illustrative15 illustriousness15 illuviations15 illegality14 illicitly14 illiteracies14 illiterateness14 illuminated14 illumination14 illuminators14 illuminism14 illusionary14 illusionisms14 illusorinesses14 illustrational14 illuviated14 illuviation14 illuviums14 ilexes13 illaudable13 illegalities13 illegally13 illuminants13 illuminates13 illuminator13 illumining13 illuminists13 illusionism13 illusorily13 illustrating13 illustrations13 illuvium13 illatives12 illegible12 illogical12 illuminant12 illuminate12 illuminati12 illumined12 illuminist12 illusionists12 illusoriness12 illustrated12 illustration12 illustrators12 ilex11 illative11 illiberal11 illiniums11 illiterates11 illogics11 illumines11 illuming11 illusionist11 illusive11 illusory11 illustrates11 illustrator11 illustrious11 illuvial11 ilmenites11 ileitides10 illinium10 illiterate10 illogic10 illumed10 illumine10 illusional10 illustrate10 illuvia10 ilmenite10 illations9 illegals9 illicit9 illitic9 illnesses9 illumes9 illusions9 ilka8 ilks8 illation8 illegal8 illume8 illusion8 ileac7 ileitis7 ileum7 ileuses7 iliac7 iliads7 ilium7 ilk7 illites7 illness7 illy7 iliad6 illest6 illite6 ileal5 ileus5 ilial5 iller5 ilea4 ilia4 ills4 ill3

Playing words that start with IL

Leading with IL lets you hook onto open columns and reach premium squares. Scan the high-scoring entries above first — they offer the best return when you have the tiles.

This list by the numbers

The shape of this list: 157 entries between 3 and 15 letters long, peaking at 12 letters with 24 words. Five-letter picks number 9 and seven-letter picks 11. Nothing here outscores ILLEGALIZATIONS — 25 points from 15 tiles on plain squares.

Chasing points? The best five entries here are ILLEGALIZATIONS (25), ILLEGALIZATION (24), ILLIQUIDITY (24), ILLEGALIZING (23), ILLIQUIDITIES (23). The longest entry is ILLEGALIZATIONS at 15 letters, and the average word here is worth about 13 points. If you are fishing for these words, keep I (157 appearances), L (157) and A (90) on your rack.

Three words worth learning first

Playing ILL across a double-word square turns its base 3 points into 6 — solid value for 3 tiles.
ILEA earns 4 points from just 4 tiles — and it is a word few opponents will bother to challenge.
ILIA — 4 letters for 4 points; every tile in it is a common draw, so it shows up rack after rack.

Round out your set with ILLS (4), ILEAL (5), ILEUS (5), ILIAL (5), ILLER (5) — all built from common tiles.

One chunk, many words: IL

If you are studying English, IL is a high-leverage chunk: instead of memorising each word cold, anchor the IL pattern and let the surrounding letters vary. Word-game players get a parallel benefit — when a crossword grid or a Wordle guess reveals the IL sequence, this page is the complete candidate pool, already sorted by Scrabble value.

More starting letters

Narrow it down

Combine a starting letter with a length or pattern in the Word Finder for exact matches.