Worldle has become a worldwide phenomenon since it was first launched during the COVID-19 pandemic by New York-based software developer Josh Wardle.
The English language puzzle rapidly grew in popularity and went from dozens of players in October 2021 to a player base of millions a few months later.
Wordle’s success led The New York Times to offer a seven-figure sum for the game in January 2022. The game can now be accessed via the publication’s website and remains free to play.
Part of Wordle’s huge popularity can be attributed to its simple rules and easy pick-up-and-play mechanic.
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Each day players are tasked with solving a five-letter word in six attempts or fewer and a color-code guides people closer towards the correct answer.
A green tile indicates the letter is correct and in the right place, while a yellow one means the letter is right but in the wrong place. A gray tile tells the player that the letter is not in the word at all.
Erhan Aslan, who teaches applied linguistics at the University of Reading in the UK, shared some advice on how best to play Wordle during a previous interview with Newsweek.
He said: “One thing that I think is important in this game is the starting word chosen. Starting off with words that include commonly used vowels, for example, e and a, consonants such as r and t, and sound sequences might be helpful .
“Choosing a word that starts with q, z, j, or x, for example, may not be the best choice. As you get more feedback after a few guesses, users need to draw on some knowledge of phonics to narrow down or eliminate some words that they might be thinking.”
The answer to today’s puzzle will be shared at the end of the article, so scroll down with caution if you want to solve it yourself.
‘Wordle’ #729, Clues for Sunday, June 18
Newsweek has put together five clues to help you solve today’s Wordle puzzle.
Hint #1: Today’s Wordle answer is an adverb.
Hint #2: The answer contains two of the same letter.
Hint #3: It can be associated with someone who is timid.
Hint #4: Synonyms for the answer include “fainthearted” and “mousy.”
Hint #5: Today’s answer starts with the letter “S.”
‘Wordle’ #729, Answer for Sunday, June 18
Today’s Wordle the answer is “shyly.”
While not used every day by most people, many people will have heard of the word. Congratulations if you solved the puzzle, but don’t worry if you didn’t Newsweek will be back tomorrow with another set of hints for the next game.
What Does ‘Shyly’ Mean?
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines “shyly” as “easily frightened.” An example used for the word “shy” is “not feeling comfortable around people: not wanting or being able to call attention to oneself.”