Wordle words list: Complete Wordle dictionary

The full Wordle dictionary contains two separate lists, and most players don’t know they’re different. Understanding which is which changes how you play.

The Answer List versus The Guess List

The original game launched with a handpicked answer list of 2,315 words. Not generated algorithmically, but selected personally. 

When the New York Times bought the game, six words were removed for being offensive, outdated, or using non-US spelling. The Times has quietly expanded the list since, and the full Wordle database now contains 12,966 words (including 10,657 additional words valid as guesses but never used as answers.) 

That second list is the guess list: words Wordle accepts as input but will never actually set as the puzzle. It exists so players can use strategic guesses (obscure five-letter strings that efficiently test common letters) without the game rejecting them as invalid.

What the Answer List Tells You

The answer list was designed to be fair. Wordle’s dictionary doesn’t use plurals ending in S. Any word ending in S in the answer list is not a plural. No proper nouns, no abbreviations, no archaic terms most people wouldn’t recognise in a sentence. 

Letter Frequency in the Wordle Dictionary

The letter E appears in nearly half of all Wordle answers. Removing just E and A from your opening guess eliminates over 69% of possible solutions. The three least common letters are J, Q, and X. They appear in just 4% of answers combined.

That’s why strong opening words like CRANE, RAISE, and STARE perform so well. They test the highest-frequency letters in the fewest guesses. The dictionary rewards players who understand it.