Honestly, some mornings you just want to drink your coffee and solve a puzzle without feeling like you're in a high-stakes logic battle. Today is Wednesday, January 14, 2026, and the New York Times has served up Wordle 1670. It’s a bit of a trickster. You might think a word with three vowels would be a breeze, but that’s exactly how the game gets you. If you're currently staring at a grid of gray tiles and feeling the heat, don't worry. You're definitely not alone.
The Wordle answer today is AVOID.
It’s a common enough verb, but the letter structure is what trips people up. Most of us have a "go-to" starting strategy. Maybe you’re an ADIEU person, or perhaps you swear by STARE or CRANE. If you used AUDIO today, you likely felt like a genius. But if you stuck to consonant-heavy openers, you might be sweating by your fourth guess.
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Why Today's Wordle Is Such a Headache
The Wordle answer today, AVOID, is a classic example of "vowel overload." When you have three vowels in a five-letter word, the consonant placements become much harder to pin down. We usually spend our guesses trying to find the S, T, R, or N. Today, those common letters are nowhere to be found.
Instead, we’re dealing with a 'V' and a 'D.'
The letter 'V' is statistically one of the least frequent letters in the English language. According to data analysis from the University of Oxford’s English Corpus, 'V' appears far less often than its neighbors in the alphabet. When it shows up in Wordle, it usually acts as a "streak killer" because most players don't test it until they’ve exhausted almost every other option.
Breaking Down the Mechanics of AVOID
If you’re still trying to solve it and just want a nudge, here’s how the word is built:
- Vowels: A, O, I. (Yes, three of them!)
- Consonants: V, D.
- Structure: Vowel-Consonant-Vowel-Vowel-Consonant.
The "OI" combination in the middle is what we call a diphthong. In linguistics, that’s just a fancy way of saying two vowel sounds that glide together in one syllable. It's common in words like "POINT" or "NOISE," but when it's preceded by a "V," it looks a bit strange on the Wordle grid.
Strategies for Wordle 1670
If you haven't put in your final guess yet, think about the letters you have left. If you have the 'A' and the 'I' but can't find the middle, stop guessing words with 'E' or 'U.' The New York Times' own WordleBot often suggests that the most efficient second move after a "whiff" (getting all grays) is to use a word that eliminates the remaining vowels as quickly as possible.
I've found that in 2026, the game's difficulty hasn't actually increased—it's just that our brains get "locked" into patterns. We expect certain endings like "-ER" or "-ED." When a word starts with a vowel like AVOID, it resets our internal search engine.
Common Missteps Today
Lots of players likely tried words like:
- ADIEU (Great for vowels, but leaves you hunting for the V and O).
- RADIO (Very close! You’d get the A, D, I, and O, but in the wrong spots).
- AUDIO (The absolute best starter for today).
If you started with RADIO, you were basically one letter away. But that’s the beauty—and the frustration—of this game. One letter is the difference between a "3/6" brag on social media and a "X/6" heartbreak.
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The Evolution of the Wordle Streak
We've been playing this game for years now. Ever since Josh Wardle sold it to the NYT, people have been predicting its downfall. Yet, every morning, millions of us still check that grid. Why? Because it’s a shared cultural moment.
Whether you’re in London, New York, or Sydney, everyone is struggling with the same five letters. Today, that word is AVOID. It's a reminder to maybe avoid overcomplicating your guesses. Sometimes the simplest word is the hardest to see when you're looking for something complex.
If today’s puzzle broke your streak, don’t beat yourself up. Statistics show that the "average" Wordle score usually hovers around 4.1 or 4.2. Today’s word likely pushed that average closer to a 4.5. It's a tough one.
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Quick Tips for Tomorrow
Since you've already handled the Wordle answer today, you might want to prep for tomorrow.
- Vary your openers. Don't use the same word every single day. The game’s algorithm doesn't care about your "lucky" word.
- Watch for the 'V'. Now that it's appeared today, it's less likely to show up tomorrow, but keep it in the back of your mind for words like "LIVER" or "BRAVE."
- Take a break. If you’re on guess four and have nothing, close the app. Walk away. Your brain processes patterns in the background (it’s called diffuse mode thinking). When you come back, the answer often jumps out at you.
Go ahead and plug in AVOID and claim your win. You've earned it.
Actionable Next Steps
- Enter AVOID into your Wordle grid for January 14.
- Check your "Wordle Statistics" to see how your current streak is holding up.
- Try the NYT Connections or Strands puzzles if you still have a "word game" itch to scratch today.