In a year of seismic change, there has been one constant: Wordle. The defining game of the year for many, and a cultural behemoth, 2022 would not have been the same without it. From its humble beginnings as a sweet gift from a software engineer to his partner, to a global success story, Wordle has been on quite the journey.
The same is true for the players that have followed the game throughout its popularity, returning each day to test themselves with the word-based challenge. Equal parts fun and frustrating - especially when you see the game's squares pop up on Twitter and know everyone beat you to the answer - the challenge is not for the fainthearted.
Thankfully, players might feel comforted to know they were oftentimes not the only ones struggling. Here are the top ten hardest Wordle words of the year - and number one will likely surprise you.
10. Tacit (Wordle 246)
Tacit means to be understood or implied without being stated, much like the silent understanding between friends who all failed to guess this word and left their score off Twitter together.
This word stumped 10% of players, with 30% of players saving their streaks on their sixth guess.
9. Found (Wordle 282)
14% of players didn't guess this word correctly, perhaps because of the eight different words ending in OUND - a number that does not bode well, given the game only gives players six guesses.
8. Trite (Wordle 396)
This word was guessed incorrectly by 15% of players, with a further 23% only guessing it correctly on their sixth try.
7. Coyly (Wordle 409)
This word led to 15% of players failing to guess correctly. Y is one of the least used letters in the English language and it appears not once but twice in this word, which may have caught many players out. Meanwhile, 35% of players had close calls with this one - taking the full six guesses to salvage their streaks.
6. Cater (Wordle 270)
With 15% of players failing to guess this word, Cater finds its way into the top 10. This one probably confused Wordle fans as there are many words ending in TER, which may have caused players to guess and hope for the best.
5. Mummy (Wordle 491)
You might think Mummy would be an easy guess, but the triple M makes this word particularly cruel for Wordle fans, with 18% of players failing this challenge. A hefty 37% of players needed all 6 guesses to save their precious streaks.
4. Watch (Wordle 265)
The word watch was tweeted around 200,000 times with 20% of players failing to guess it and subsequently ending their streak. It also doesn't help that W is one of the least used letters in the English language, taking up only 1.2% of common English vocabulary.
3. Catch (World 483)
This one may appear easy, but 23% of players failed to guess it correctly. This word is quite similar to number four on the list - and this may have caught players out.
2. Foyer (Wordle 304)
This Wordle conundrum was tweeted in the masses as thousands of streaks suddenly came to an end. Devastatingly, 26% of players failed to guess this word making foyer a formidable one in the Wordle history books.
1. Parer (Wordle 454)
With 48% of players failing within the six guesses provided, parer is the word with the highest failure rate. This word stumped players, with many taking to Twitter to convey their heartbreak about their lost streaks to the Wordle community. It's fair to say that this word will be infamous within the world of puzzles for quite a while.
The top ten list was compiled using research conducted by gaming website im-a-puzzle.com.
Which Wordles caught you? Let us know in the comments below
