Look, we've all been there. It is 7:00 AM, the coffee hasn't kicked in yet, and you are staring at a grid of gray boxes that feel more like a personal insult than a word game. Wordle 1514 is one of those puzzles. It isn't necessarily a "trap" word with sixteen different variations like LIGHT, NIGHT, and SIGHT, but it’s just tricky enough to make you sweat if your opening guess was a dud.
NYT Games has a knack for picking words that sit right on the edge of our daily vocabulary. You know the word. You use it. But when it’s hidden behind five empty tiles, your brain suddenly decides it has never seen a dictionary in its life.
The Current State of the Wordle 1514 Answer
The Wordle 1514 answer for January 15, 2026, is STARE.
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It is a classic. It’s got those high-frequency letters that everyone tells you to use in your openers. If you started with ARISE or STARE itself (lucky you), you probably breezed through this in two or three minutes. But if you're a "vibes only" player who starts with something chaotic like JUMPY or CHASM, you might be struggling to narrow down the placement of that pesky 'E' and 'R'.
The word STARE functions as both a noun and a verb. Most people think of it as a prolonged, unblinking gaze. Scientifically, staring is actually a fascinating neurological process. According to vision researchers at the University of Rochester, humans use "fixational eye movements" even when we think we are staring perfectly still. Our eyes are actually vibrating at a microscopic level to prevent our photoreceptors from desensitizing. Basically, if you actually stared perfectly still, the world would eventually turn gray and disappear.
Why Today’s Word Trips People Up
Even though STARE uses very common letters—S, T, A, R, and E—the configuration can be deceptive. We often see these letters in different clusters. You might have seen the 'S' and 'T' and immediately jumped to STEER or STARE might have been overlooked for more complex-sounding words like STERN.
The difficulty today isn't the obscurity of the word. It's the sheer number of anagrams and "neighbor" words. Consider how many words use four out of these five letters. You’ve got TEARS, RATES, ASTER, and STARE. If you have the letters but the wrong order, the yellow tiles can become a nightmare.
Honestly, the NYT "Hard Mode" players are the ones who might actually suffer here. If you get _ T A R E, you could be looking at STARE, SPARE, SHARE, or FLARE. That is the "Green Grave." You get four letters locked in and then burn through your remaining turns guessing the first letter. It's a brutal way to lose a 100-day streak.
Strategies That Actually Work for Wordle 1514
Stop using ADIEU. Seriously.
I know, I know. It gets the vowels out of the way. But vowels aren't usually the problem in Wordle; consonants are. You need to know where the 'R', 'S', and 'T' are. If you used CRANE or SLATE today, you're already halfway to the finish line.
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- Check for the 'E' at the end. In English, the terminal 'E' is incredibly common, often serving as a silent modifier for the vowel sound.
- Don't forget the 'S-T' blend. It's one of the most frequent starting pairs in the English language.
- Vary your vowels. If STARE isn't coming to you, try a word that uses 'I' or 'O' just to rule them out, even if you know they aren't in the final answer. It’s about elimination.
Historical Context of Wordle 1514
Since the New York Times bought Wordle from Josh Wardle back in 2022, the editorial curation of the word list has shifted. Originally, the game used a list of about 2,300 "common" five-letter words. Tracy Bennett, the current Wordle editor, has a tough job. She has to balance making the game accessible while ensuring it doesn't become boring.
Words like STARE are the bread and butter of the game. They aren't controversial like FETUS or GUANO, which caused uproars in the past. They are just solid, linguistic staples.
What to do if you lost your streak today
First, breathe. It’s just a game.
Second, look at your starting word. If you’re consistently hitting six guesses or failing, your opener is likely the culprit. Experts (and by experts, I mean the people who run computer simulations on this stuff) generally agree that SALET or TARSE are mathematically the best starting words. But who wants to play like a robot?
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If you want to keep the "human" element alive, just try to pick a word with at least two vowels and three distinct, common consonants. Avoid double letters on your first guess. It's a waste of a tile.
Practical Steps for Tomorrow's Puzzle
To make sure you don't find yourself frantically Googling the answer tomorrow, try these three things:
- Switch your opener. If you’ve been using the same word for a month and your average is 4.5, it’s time for a change. Try TRACE or STARE (now that you know it’s used, it won't be the answer again for a long time, but it's a great "burner" word).
- Play the "Mini" Crossword first. It warms up the verbal processing centers of your brain.
- Step away. If you're on guess four and you're stuck, put the phone down. Go do something else. Your subconscious will keep working on the letter patterns while you're washing dishes or walking the dog.
Wordle 1514 is a reminder that simplicity is often the hardest thing to see. We look for the complex, the obscure, and the weird, when often the answer is just a common word we use every single day. Don't overthink the 'S-T-A-R-E'. Just look at the tiles and let the patterns emerge.
Keep your streak healthy. Use your guesses wisely. Tomorrow is a new grid.