How we found the hardest words
Asking people which Wordle words feel hard gives you opinions. We wanted numbers. So we set up a simple test: our solver played every one of the 2,744 likely answers in our word list, one game each. It always opened with RAISE, then always played its own top suggestion. No luck, no hunches, just the same strategy every time.
That gives every word a fair score: the number of guesses the solver needed. Most words were easy. In fact, 62 were solved in two guesses or fewer. A small group, though, needed six or even seven tries.
The 13 hardest Wordle words
Here's every word that needed six or more guesses, with the exact guesses the solver played and how many look-alike answers each word has.
| Word | Guesses | Solver's path | Look-alikes |
|---|---|---|---|
| COVER | 7 | RAISE → DETER → BOWEL → HOMEY → GOFER → JOKER → COVER | 10 |
| POKER | 7 | RAISE → DETER → BOWEL → HOMEY → GOFER → JOKER → POKER | 5 |
| AGAVE | 6 | RAISE → ELAND → ABACK → AGAPE → AGATE → AGAVE | 2 |
| AXING | 6 | RAISE → ALONG → AGAPE → ACING → AWING → AXING | 4 |
| FIXER | 6 | RAISE → LINED → PETER → FIBER → FIVER → FIXER | 4 |
| FOYER | 6 | RAISE → DETER → BOWEL → HOMEY → COYER → FOYER | 2 |
| GONER | 6 | RAISE → DETER → BOWEL → HOMEY → GOFER → GONER | 4 |
| JOKER | 6 | RAISE → DETER → BOWEL → HOMEY → GOFER → JOKER | 1 |
| LAYER | 6 | RAISE → PETER → BAGEL → LAMER → LAXER → LAYER | 7 |
| MIXER | 6 | RAISE → LINED → PETER → FIBER → HIKER → MIXER | 5 |
| WATCH | 6 | RAISE → CANTY → HALMS → BATCH → PATCH → WATCH | 7 |
| WIGHT | 6 | RAISE → LINTY → TOPIC → AMBIT → FIGHT → WIGHT | 9 |
| WINCH | 6 | RAISE → LINTY → CUING → FINCH → PINCH → WINCH | 6 |
“Look-alikes” are other likely answers that differ by exactly one letter.
Why these words are so hard
Look down that list and a pattern jumps out. These words aren't rare or strange. Most are everyday words. The problem is the company they keep.
They live in big families
The average likely answer has 2.4 look-alikes. The words on our list average 5.1. Take COVER: it has 10 look-alikes, including COMER, COVEN, COVET, COVEY, COWER. When that many words share four letters, each guess can only knock out one or two of them.
The -ER ending is a minefield
8 of the 13 hardest words end in -ER: COVER, POKER, FIXER, FOYER, GONER, JOKER, LAYER, MIXER. Words like these share their last three letters, often their vowel too, so the first two letters are all that's left to find. Look at the solver's path for COVER: after five guesses it had the -ER pinned down, but it still had to try one first letter after another.
Other well-known traps
- AGAVE took 6 guesses. Its look-alikes include AGAPE, AGATE.
- AXING took 6 guesses. Its look-alikes include ACING, AGING, APING, AWING.
- WATCH took 6 guesses. Its look-alikes include BATCH, CATCH, HATCH, LATCH.
- WIGHT took 6 guesses. Its look-alikes include BIGHT, EIGHT, FIGHT, LIGHT.
- WINCH took 6 guesses. Its look-alikes include CINCH, FINCH, PINCH, WENCH.
How to beat the hardest Wordle words
The good news: you can play these words better than a solver that sticks to one fixed strategy. Here's what works:
- Spot the trap early. If you have four letters and can think of three or more words that fit, you're in a trap. Stop guessing them one by one.
- Use a filler word. Pick a word that tests as many of the possible missing letters as you can, even if it can't be the answer. Our filler words guide has tested examples.
- Count your guesses. With three or more guesses left, a filler word is usually worth it. On your last guess, just pick the most common word.
- Let the guesser help. Enter your board into the Wordle guesser. If its top pick is marked “helper word”, that's a filler it thinks will break the trap.
The bottom line
The hardest Wordle words aren't long, rare or tricky to spell. They're ordinary words with too many neighbors. Recognize the pattern, use a filler word, and even COVER and POKER become winnable. Want to see how many words are left in your own game? Put your guesses into the Wordle Helper.
Method: our solver played each of 2,744 likely answers once, opening with RAISE and then taking its top-ranked suggestion. Results depend on our word list, which is not the official NYT list.