EXILE

Meaning

The state of being banished from one's home or country.

“He lived in exile.”

• verbTo send into exile.

EXILE as a word-puzzle answer

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

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