The Hardest Wordle Answers, Ranked
Not all Wordle answers are created equal. A word like CRANE falls quickly to a good opener; a word like JAZZY can burn through all six guesses. We scored every real Wordle answer ever published on a transparent 0–100 difficulty rubric — rare letters, repeated letters, and awkward patterns — and ranked them. Below: the 50 hardest answers of all time, plus the 10 easiest for contrast.
Ranked from 1,932 real Wordle answers (June 19, 2021 – October 6, 2026).
The 50 Hardest Wordle Answers
Sorted by difficulty score, highest first. Ties are broken by earliest puzzle date, so the table always shows exactly the 50 highest-scoring answers.
| Rank | Answer | Puzzle # | Date | Score | Why it's hard |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | JAZZY | 712 | June 1, 2023 | 100 | Contains J; Contains Z; Contains Y; Double Z; Double consonant cluster; Rare opening letter |
| #2 | FUZZY | 1350 | February 28, 2025 | 80 | Contains Z; Contains Y; Double Z; Double consonant cluster |
| #3 | TIZZY | 1493 | July 21, 2025 | 80 | Contains Z; Contains Y; Double Z; Double consonant cluster |
| #4 | DIZZY | 1714 | February 27, 2026 | 80 | Contains Z; Contains Y; Double Z; Double consonant cluster |
| #5 | FIZZY | 1747 | April 1, 2026 | 80 | Contains Z; Contains Y; Double Z; Double consonant cluster |
| #6 | PIZZA | 1841 | July 4, 2026 | 72 | Contains Z; Double Z; Double consonant cluster |
| #7 | JOLLY | 1037 | April 21, 2024 | 68 | Contains J; Contains Y; Double L; Double consonant cluster; Rare opening letter |
| #8 | JIFFY | 1119 | July 12, 2024 | 68 | Contains J; Contains Y; Double F; Double consonant cluster; Rare opening letter |
| #9 | JELLY | 1253 | November 23, 2024 | 68 | Contains J; Contains Y; Double L; Double consonant cluster; Rare opening letter |
| #10 | KAYAK | 671 | April 21, 2023 | 64 | Contains K; Contains Y; Double K; Double A |
| #11 | QUEUE | 883 | November 19, 2023 | 64 | Contains Q; Double U; Double E; Rare opening letter |
| #12 | VIVID | 251 | February 25, 2022 | 62 | Contains V; Double V; Double I; Rare opening letter |
| #13 | VERVE | 795 | August 23, 2023 | 62 | Contains V; Double V; Double E; Rare opening letter |
| #14 | JEWEL | 1382 | April 1, 2025 | 62 | Contains J; Contains W; Double E; Rare opening letter |
| #15 | JERKY | 1055 | May 9, 2024 | 60 | Contains J; Contains K; Contains Y; Rare opening letter |
| #16 | SAVVY | 1500 | July 28, 2025 | 60 | Contains V; Contains Y; Double V; Double consonant cluster |
| #17 | QUILL | 1556 | September 22, 2025 | 60 | Contains Q; Double L; Double consonant cluster; Rare opening letter |
| #18 | QUELL | 1820 | June 13, 2026 | 60 | Contains Q; Double L; Double consonant cluster; Rare opening letter |
| #19 | BOOZY | 130 | October 27, 2021 | 56 | Contains Z; Contains Y; Double O |
| #20 | KAZOO | 730 | June 19, 2023 | 56 | Contains K; Contains Z; Double O |
| #21 | QUEEN | 887 | November 23, 2023 | 54 | Contains Q; Double E; Rare opening letter |
| #22 | AFFIX | 1286 | December 26, 2024 | 54 | Contains X; Double F; Double consonant cluster |
| #23 | ASSAY | 1502 | July 30, 2025 | 54 | Contains Y; Double A; Double S; Double consonant cluster |
| #24 | ANNEX | 1529 | August 26, 2025 | 54 | Contains X; Double N; Double consonant cluster |
| #25 | QUEER | 1831 | June 24, 2026 | 54 | Contains Q; Double E; Rare opening letter |
| #26 | QUERY | 205 | January 10, 2022 | 52 | Contains Q; Contains Y; Rare opening letter |
| #27 | ZESTY | 313 | April 28, 2022 | 52 | Contains Z; Contains Y; Rare opening letter |
| #28 | QUIRK | 487 | October 19, 2022 | 52 | Contains Q; Contains K; Rare opening letter |
| #29 | WORRY | 587 | January 27, 2023 | 52 | Contains W; Contains Y; Double R; Double consonant cluster |
| #30 | JOKER | 675 | April 25, 2023 | 52 | Contains J; Contains K; Rare opening letter |
| #31 | QUICK | 784 | August 12, 2023 | 52 | Contains Q; Contains K; Rare opening letter |
| #32 | VIXEN | 1454 | June 12, 2025 | 52 | Contains V; Contains X; Rare opening letter |
| #33 | WITTY | 1471 | June 29, 2025 | 52 | Contains W; Contains Y; Double T; Double consonant cluster |
| #34 | JUMPY | 1482 | July 10, 2025 | 52 | Contains J; Contains Y; Rare opening letter |
| #35 | QUAKE | 1496 | July 24, 2025 | 52 | Contains Q; Contains K; Rare opening letter |
| #36 | QUARK | 1667 | January 11, 2026 | 52 | Contains Q; Contains K; Rare opening letter |
| #37 | QUACK | 1774 | April 28, 2026 | 52 | Contains Q; Contains K; Rare opening letter |
| #38 | VALVE | 1866 | July 29, 2026 | 52 | Contains V; Double V; Rare opening letter |
| #39 | VILLA | 1387 | April 6, 2025 | 50 | Contains V; Double L; Double consonant cluster; Rare opening letter |
| #40 | MAXIM | 50 | August 8, 2021 | 48 | Contains X; Double M |
| #41 | BOOBY | 54 | August 12, 2021 | 48 | Contains Y; Double B; Double O |
| #42 | CIVIC | 96 | September 23, 2021 | 48 | Contains V; Double C; Double I |
| #43 | BOOZE | 450 | September 12, 2022 | 48 | Contains Z; Double O |
| #44 | EJECT | 530 | December 1, 2022 | 48 | Contains J; Double E |
| #45 | EXCEL | 551 | December 22, 2022 | 48 | Contains X; Double E |
| #46 | PIXIE | 569 | January 9, 2023 | 48 | Contains X; Double I |
| #47 | PLAZA | 680 | April 30, 2023 | 48 | Contains Z; Double A |
| #48 | EXERT | 818 | September 15, 2023 | 48 | Contains X; Double E |
| #49 | NINJA | 872 | November 8, 2023 | 48 | Contains J; Double N |
| #50 | EXPEL | 955 | January 30, 2024 | 48 | Contains X; Double E |
The 10 Easiest Wordle Answers
The contrast set: common five-letter words built from everyday letters in familiar positions. These are the answers your opener was practically built for.
| Rank | Answer | Puzzle # | Date | Score | Why it's easy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | CIGAR | — | June 19, 2021 | 20 | Everyday letters in familiar positions |
| #2 | REBUT | 1 | June 20, 2021 | 20 | Everyday letters in familiar positions |
| #3 | BLUSH | 5 | June 24, 2021 | 20 | Everyday letters in familiar positions |
| #4 | FOCAL | 6 | June 25, 2021 | 20 | Everyday letters in familiar positions |
| #5 | MODEL | 12 | July 1, 2021 | 20 | Everyday letters in familiar positions |
| #6 | GRADE | 15 | July 4, 2021 | 20 | Everyday letters in familiar positions |
| #7 | BENCH | 17 | July 6, 2021 | 20 | Everyday letters in familiar positions |
| #8 | FEIGN | 19 | July 8, 2021 | 20 | Everyday letters in familiar positions |
| #9 | DEATH | 21 | July 10, 2021 | 20 | Everyday letters in familiar positions |
| #10 | FRESH | 22 | July 11, 2021 | 20 | Everyday letters in familiar positions |
How we scored this
Every answer starts at 20 points and gains points for rare letters (Q/Z/X/J and K/V/W/Y), repeated letters, and awkward patterns like double consonants — capped at 100.
Difficulty in Wordle comes down to how much information each guess gives you. Common letters (E, A, R, S, T) appear in thousands of candidate words, so standard openers test them immediately. Rare letters like J, Q, X, and Z appear in far fewer guesses, so they reveal themselves late — often after several guesses have already been spent. Repeated letters are awkward because a single green or yellow rarely tells you the letter appears twice, and double consonant clusters sit in word shapes most solvers don't reach for first.
The rubric is applied identically to every answer — no per-word tuning — so the ranking is deterministic: anyone can re-run it against the public answer list and get the same order. Word length is fixed at five for every Wordle answer, so length plays no part in the score.
| Points | Rule |
|---|---|
| 20 | Base score — every answer starts here. |
| +18 / occurrence | Ultra-rare letters: Q, Z, X, J — the four rarest letters in written English. |
| +8 / occurrence | Rare letters: K, V, W, Y. |
| +10 / repeated letter | Repeated letter — each letter that appears more than once (e.g. QUEUE scores this twice). |
| +6 | Double consonant cluster — two identical consonants side by side (e.g. ZZ in FUZZY). |
| +6 | Rare opening letter — the answer starts with Q, X, Z, J, or V. |
| 100 max | The total is capped at 100. |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the hardest Wordle answer of all time?
JAZZY (puzzle #712, June 1, 2023) is the highest-scoring answer in our data at 100 out of 100. Contains J; Contains Z; Contains Y; Double Z; Double consonant cluster; Rare opening letter. It is the only answer to reach a perfect difficulty score across all 1,932 puzzles analyzed.
How is Wordle answer difficulty scored?
Every answer starts at 20 points and gains points for rare letters (Q/Z/X/J and K/V/W/Y), repeated letters, and awkward patterns like double consonants — capped at 100. The rubric is applied identically to every past answer, so the ranking is deterministic and reproducible — anyone can re-run it and get the same order.
What are the easiest Wordle answers?
The easiest answers are common five-letter words built from everyday letters in familiar positions — words like CRANE and SLATE. They score the base 20 out of 100 because they contain no rare letters, no repeats, and no awkward clusters. The 10 easiest answers are listed in the contrast table above.
Can I cite this ranking in an article or classroom?
Yes. This ranking is published as a citation-friendly reference: every row names the real answer, its official puzzle number, and its date. Please credit WordSolverX and link to this page. The methodology is documented on this page so your readers can verify how each score was calculated.
Keep exploring Wordle
Hints and the confirmed answer for today's puzzle.
Enter your clues and get the best next guess.
Every past answer by date and puzzle number, searchable.
The openers that beat rare letters fastest.
Strategy guide for cutting your average down.
Why repeats are the silent guess-killers.
Credited editor
Preston Hayes
Preston Hayes is the credited editor for WordSolverX answer pages and puzzle strategy content. His work focuses on clear answer presentation, source verification, solver guidance, and fast corrections when a game changes.