CIVIL

Meaning

Having to do with people and government office as opposed to the military or religion.

“She went into civil service because she wanted to help the people.”

CIVIL as a word-puzzle answer

CIVIL is a 5-letter word with 2 vowels (I, I) and 3 consonants (C, V, L). It repeats 1 letter, which is a classic trap — guessers who assume five distinct letters get stuck.

It leans on high-frequency letters (I), so a strong vowel-and-common-consonant opener tends to light up quickly. Watch for the less-common letter V — saving a guess to test it once the vowels are placed is usually the fastest route.

CIVIL by the numbers

Across the 2,412 curated answers in the Wordocious bank, I appears in 28% of answers (the 6th most common letter), L appears in 25% of answers (the 8th most common letter), C appears in 19% of answers (the 10th most common letter). 7 other answers share the opening “CI-”, so two green tiles up front still leave real guessing to do.

Difficulty: 3/5 — moderate, because the repeated letter hides one position, and it uses at least one genuinely rare letter.

Near misses

One letter away in the answer bank: CIVIC. Each of these turns four tiles green against CIVIL — the classic endgame squeeze where spending a guess on the differing letter beats burning attempts on hope.

Put it to use

Words like CIVIL are exactly what the daily puzzles throw at you. Warm up in Practice, race the clock in the Daily Challenge, or study the best starting words before your next run. New to the multi-board modes? The mode guides cover all nine.